Capture the Heart
by r.k.Oujirou
Summary: With Team Galactic imprisoned and Pokemon Hunter J reportedly gone, things were looking to be more peaceful in the Sinnoh region. But as Dawn and Piplup would discover on a late-night adventure, their troubles weren't over after all.
1. Creature in the Night

_**Capture the Heart**_**  
by rkOujirou**

Author's note: This story is an alternate continuation based on the Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl anime, starting from after the episode "The Battle Finale of Legend!". There won't be any story elements exclusive to the games. This was just a random story idea of mine focusing on the characters already introduced in the anime.

Disclaimer: Pokemon is not my idea and I don't own it or any of the characters, obviously.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Inside the walls of a remote Pokemon Center, the exhausted trio of Ash, Brock, and Dawn were peacefully slumbering through the night.

What was supposed to be a normal day of travel on the way to Sunyshore City had turned into a bizarre and danger-filled nightmare as Team Galactic's elaborate plans finally came to fruition. Dialga and Palkia had been summoned, as had the legendary lake guardians Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf. Thankfully, things didn't go in Team Galactic's favor.

At the end of the day, the Sinnoh region was much different from a crime standpoint. Pokemon Hunter J and her crew were presumed dead after the combined Future Sight attacks of Uxie and Mesprit struck their ship, causing it to crash into Lake Valor and explode deep beneath the water's surface. Team Galactic's leader, Cyrus, was no longer a part of this world, having dove into the new world created by Dialga and Palkia. The rest of Team Galactic, whom Cyrus did not want following him to the new world, had been arrested and were now sitting in jail.

While none of the three trainers wished such misfortune on people, they were certainly glad that Sinnoh would be a bit more calm from now on. Well...aside from Team Rocket's constant, fruitless attempts to steal Pikachu and other Pokemon, anyway.

After everything had ended, Cynthia was kind enough to drop the trio off at the nearest Pokemon Center. Their journey to Sunyshore City would resume tomorrow, but for now they were enjoying their well-deserved sleep.

Dawn, who was in the top bunk of one of the beds with Piplup, subconsciously turned onto her side to get more comfortable as she slept, which caused some of her long hair to slide down onto Piplup's beak. The small Pokemon tried to ignore it, but the tickling feeling was too much to bear. Letting out a whopper of a sneeze, Piplup was instantly jarred from its sleep.

"Pip? Pip?" it sat up, its eyes darting around the room in confusion. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Brushing off the abrupt wake-up for now, Piplup let out a yawn and fell back against the mattress. A sudden break in the moonlight flowing in through the window, however, soon caught its attention. Wondering what had caused it, Piplup hopped to its feet and moved to the edge of the bed where it could get a better view of what was going on outside.

There, moving through the sky at a low speed, was the dark silhouette of a large creature. Piplup wasn't sure what it was, but seeing something that large flying around was unusual enough to rouse some concern. Anxious to alert someone to the discovery, it went back over to Dawn and began shaking her arm with its flippers. "Piplup! Piii piplup!"

"Mmm..." Dawn groaned in her sleep, knocking Piplup back with her hand.

"Piplup pip!" the water-type Pokemon fumed. This was going to take some more drastic measures. Readying itself to attack, Piplup used an extremely weak Bubble Beam to pelt its trainer's face with a barrage of water bubbles.

"Mm...h-huh...?" the blue-haired girl sleepily opened her eyes. Sensing the moisture on her face, Dawn sat up and rubbed her hand against her cheek. It was then that she noticed Piplup staring up at her. "Hey, did you just use Bubble Beam on me?" she chided it in a low voice.

"Piiplup! Piplup pip piplup!" her Pokemon frantically gestured toward the window.

"Huh? What is it? Is there something out there?" Dawn whispered, trying not to awaken anyone else as she moved closer to have a look. It didn't take long to pick up on what Piplup was trying to bring to her attention. The large creature's silhouette was still within view, and whatever it was, it didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave. "Wow, is that a Pokemon? It's a big one, too..."

Dawn could see the curiosity in her Piplup's eyes as she glanced down at it again. Admittedly, the mystery Pokemon had captured her interest as well. "I'd kind of like to see what it is," she flashed a smile at her Pokemon. "How about we go take a quick look, Piplup?"

"Pip!" Piplup nodded in approval.

"Okay!" Dawn whispered. "Be quiet, though! We don't want to wake up Ash and Brock."

Dressed in her pink pajamas, Dawn carefully climbed down to the floor and put on her boots. As she and Piplup slipped out of the room, there was no indication that either of the boys had woken up. Part one of their escapade was a success.

Once they exited the Pokemon Center, the pair caught sight of the large creature in the sky again. This time, it looked to be descending to the ground.

"Good, this is our chance!" Dawn beamed enthusiastically. "Come on, Piplup! Let's go!"

There was a small stream that ran alongside the road leading away from the Pokemon Center. The unknown creature seemed to have been following the stream's path closely, and Dawn believed that it had landed not too far off the path up ahead. She knew she would have to be cautious, though, which was why she was keeping a close eye out for it. Whatever the Pokemon was, there would be problems if it was in a foul mood and happened to spot them. Playing it safe was the way to go.

"Almost there..." the young coordinator said. She slowed her pace now that they'd gotten close. Piplup followed suit.

The small Pokemon then raised one of its flippers into the air as it noticed something. "Piiip piplup!"

Turning her attention to the sky, Dawn watched as the large Pokemon's silhouette suddenly rose up above the trees once more. Its behavior now changed. Rather than coasting through the air as it had done before, the creature flew off at a much higher speed and vanished out of sight within a matter of seconds.

"Awww," Dawn pouted. "Well, so much for that. Still, I wonder what it was doing over there..."

With the prospect of danger gone along with the unknown Pokemon, Dawn and Piplup continued onward to the spot where the creature had briefly landed.

*_cough, cough..._*

Both she and Piplup startled by the unexpected sound of someone coughing, Dawn spun around to examine the treeline where she thought the noise had come from. Piplup then began to make a ruckus, tugging on its trainer's pant leg and pointing up ahead. It had spotted something, and Dawn soon did as well. If her eyes weren't deceiving her, there were a pair of legs sticking out from behind one of the trees.

"Hey, someone's over there! And they don't sound too good," Dawn said, sounding concerned. "Let's go see if they need help, Piplup."

Dawn hurried over to check on the condition of the person seated against the base of the tree. "Excuse me, are you oka-"

The girl from Twinleaf Town abruptly stopped speaking mid-sentence. Her words replaced by a loud gasp, she fell back against a nearby tree in shock. Piplup quickly joined her, hiding itself behind her leg in fear. "_There's no way..._" Dawn thought to herself, her heart threatening to beat right out of her chest. "_There's just no way..._"

Shining down through the branches and leaves of the trees above, the moonlight reflected off of the seated individual's short, silver hair. It was a woman—one that Dawn and her frightened Pokemon knew all too well. There was no mistaking the red and black outfit that Dawn and the boys were accustomed to seeing her wear. Strangely, though, the high-tech headset that she usually wore was missing. And, more noticeably, the entire left side of her face was covered with dry blood that had seeped down from a nasty laceration on her forehead.

Even the woman's rough condition, however, couldn't temper the icy cold glare she fixed on Dawn and her Piplup as she became aware of their presence. "You..." she recognized the girl, "...you're...one of those kids that likes to get into my business..."

"P-P-P-Pokemon...H-Hunter...J...!" Dawn's voice trembled at the sight of the callous criminal. Her body behaved likewise. J was supposed to have died earlier today. Never mind that she was still in the land of the living, but what in the world was she doing _here_, of all places? "But...but _how_? They said your ship crashed into Lake Valor and exploded!"

It shouldn't have come as any surprise that Dawn would get no answer from the woman. "I don't have to explain anything to you," J spat in response, clearly not in the mood to talk. "This is your only warning. Get lost right now or I'll make you wish you'd never come out here."

Hearing J deliver her threat would instill a spark of courage in Piplup. The water-type Pokemon immediately came out from behind Dawn's leg and stood defiantly before the Pokemon hunter with its flippers on its hips. "Piiplup pii piplup pip!"

"Piplup..." Dawn watched as her Pokemon made its stand. It was clear that Piplup didn't appreciate J saying such things to its trainer. Dawn wasn't about to back down either. Pushing herself off of the tree, she stepped up next to Piplup and took a position alongside it. "No! I'm not going anywhere!"

J sneered at the steadfast coordinator and her Pokemon, not at all pleased that they weren't retreating. "Are you suicidal? You should know exactly what I'm capable of, little girl."

"Yes, I do! You're a ruthless Pokemon hunter!" Dawn snapped back at her. "That's exactly why I'm not afraid! If you could have done something, you would have done it as soon as you saw us. But you're hurt, aren't you?"

J didn't so much as flinch at Dawn's analysis.

"In fact," Dawn continued, "...you can't even move. I'm right, aren't I?"

The silver-haired hunter didn't allow herself to show it, but she knew she'd been found out. "_Smart girl. She called my bluff,_" J silently admitted. "Making assumptions like that is dangerous, you know. You might regret it later."

Dawn wasn't buying J's tough talk. "Piplup, go back to the Pokemon Center and get the guys!" she instructed the creature at her feet. "We're going to make sure J gets put in jail where she belongs."

"Pip?" Piplup gave its trainer an unsure look.

"Don't worry, she can't do anything now," Dawn assured her Pokemon. "Hurry, okay?"

With a quick salute, Piplup started running back to the Pokemon Center to retrieve some backup in the form of Ash and Brock.

"And now you're defenseless," J smirked, continuing her attempts to put some fear back into her unwanted visitor.

"I'm a lot more capable than you are right now," Dawn was quick to retort.

"Then why don't you do something?" J pressed the girl. "Why send me to jail when you could kill me and get rid of me for good?"

Dawn was offended at the very idea. "Because I don't enjoy hurting living things like you do!" she emphatically answered.

The light provided by the moon was sufficient enough for Dawn to see that J was having a difficult time keeping her left eye open. The blood that had gotten into it earlier in the day was stinging badly. It certainly wasn't stopping the Pokemon hunter from expressing herself, though.

"You're so naive," J snorted at the reply. "Hurting things wouldn't earn me money. I capture Pokemon and I sell them to willing buyers. Get it straight."

"It's the same thing! You're taking those poor Pokemon by force, and it's wrong!" Dawn cried. The thought of J's cruelty was starting to get to her as tears began forming in her eyes. "Why would you _do_ that?"

"Why would I do it? That's a stupid question," J ridiculed her, again wincing from the painful sensation in her left eye. "It's how I make a living. I enjoy it, and I'm the best there is at it. I don't need some clueless brat telling me that what I do is wrong. Understand?"

Dawn had apparently had enough of this conversation. Wiping away a single tear that had rolled down her cheek, she turned around and walked off in the direction of the nearby stream.

J couldn't have been happier that the nuisance had finally left her alone. She was tired of listening to the girl's attempt to lecture her. "_Shouldn't be long now,_" she thought, casting her gaze up at the sky.

Then, to J's surprise, her ears picked up on something. It was the same sound of footsteps that she'd just heard walking away moments earlier, only now they seemed to be coming closer. More and more pronounced became the sounds of those steps until finally the one making them re-entered J's vision. Dawn, now clutching something in her right hand, stood before the woman quietly. "What?" J snarled, glaring up at her.

Dawn didn't say a word as she knelt down next to the wounded Pokemon hunter. Taking her handkerchief that she'd just soaked in the stream, she began the process of cleaning the dry blood away from the woman's face.

Being the type that analyzes situations a lot, J typically had a good understanding of why people did the things they do. There was always a motive there. In her line of work, that motive often times would turn out to be underhanded. This situation, though...this represented a rare occasion where J had no idea what a particular person was thinking. "Why?" she felt compelled to ask the emotional coordinator.

Sniffling as she gently wiped away the blood below J's eye, Dawn gave the woman a very simple, honest answer. "Because I have a heart," she told her.

J sat quietly now, allowing the girl to assist her without a fuss. She was a smart businesswoman who had an uncanny way with words, but she didn't know what to say at the moment. What _could_ she say? Dawn's actions made no sense to her. "_This girl..._" J thought, taking a long look at Dawn's face, "..._I don't understand..._"

Her handkerchief dirtied and starting to become dry, Dawn got back to her feet to go wet it in the stream one more time. "I'm almost do-"

"What's your name?" J interrupted her all of a sudden.

Dawn stopped in her tracks. That was one question she definitely wasn't expecting to hear from the injured Pokemon hunter. It was also one that she wasn't necessarily eager to answer. "Why should I tell you?" she asked.

Irritated by the reply, J turned away from the girl. "Fine. Forget it," she muttered. She was annoyed with herself for even letting the question slip past her lips. Why would she even ask something so pointless?

Though she certainly wasn't obligated to tell J her name, Dawn felt conflicted about not doing so. It was a rude thing to do, after all. Did J deserve an answer? Probably not, but Dawn wanted to be the better person here. "My name...it's Dawn," she said.

J slowly turned her head and stared into the kindhearted girl's eyes. For a moment, the two of them shared a silent look. There was something about this girl. Something...different. Frustrating. Intriguing. What was it about her? "Dawn-"

*_Roaaarrr!_*

Before J could speak any further, the large silhouette that Dawn had seen earlier appeared again right above them. It would descend to the ground next to J, landing with such force that it knocked Dawn right off her feet. It was obvious now; the figure in the sky had been J's Salamence all along.

Dawn eased backward for her own safety when Salamence directed a threatening growl her way. "U-uh..." the frightened girl stammered.

"Forget about her," J commanded her Pokemon. "Is the coast clear?"

The winged beast, who'd been out on a scouting mission, nodded its head.

"Good. Let's go," the Pokemon hunter said.

As it had been doing throughout the day, Salamence used its mouth to grab its master by the back of her outfit and drape her over its back. Flying like this when J didn't even have to strength to hold on carried risks, hence the low flight speed that Salamence had exhibited before when Piplup had spotted it.

Dawn had no Pokemon with her to pit against Salamence. Still, she didn't want to let J get away again. Given her injuries, this was the best chance they'd have to put an end to her deplorable work. "H-hey, wait!" she stood up. She wanted desperately to figure out some way to stop them, but there just wasn't enough time to do so.

Before Salamence took to the air, J set her sights on Dawn one last time. "You and your friends had better stay out of my way!" she hissed venomously at the girl.

Close by, Ash and Brock, along with Pikachu and Piplup, were hurrying along the path when they spotted Salamence flying out from the trees with a familiar woman on its back.

"Hey, it's...it's J!" Ash pointed out, shocked that she was still alive.

"Looks like it! Where's Dawn?" Brock asked, looking to Piplup for directions. He was feeling extremely concerned for his friend right now.

The small Pokemon gestured to one of the trees up ahead. Much to their relief, the boys would find Dawn alive and unharmed, albeit not very happy with herself.

"Dawn!" Ash ran up to her. "You okay?"

The young girl shook her head, looking up into the sky with disappointment. "I'm sorry, guys," she apologized. "I couldn't keep her here."

"Don't worry about it. The important thing is that you're okay," Brock assured her.

"Man, I can't believe she escaped that explosion," Ash marveled at the Pokemon hunter's tenacity. "Someone's going to catch her one of these days."

"Yeah," Dawn replied weakly. She looked down at the handkerchief—stained with J's blood—that she still held in her hand. "She can't keep it up forever."

* * *

Deep in a forest east of Veilstone City sat a well-hidden and expansive bunker that would be difficult for even the sharpest of eyes to spot. Inside, five uniformed men sat in the bunker's control center. The mood had been tense throughout the day and overnight. Now, with the sun starting to rise on the horizon, everyone was still trying to figure out why they couldn't get in contact with their leader.

"Still no word from them," one of the men fretted.

"There's no way it would be like this unless something really bad happened," another said.

Angered, the tallest of the men in the group shot up from his seat. "That's enough! This is Commander J we're talking about! There's no way she'd get taken out!"

The other crewmen hung their heads solemnly. They didn't want to believe it either. The fact that they couldn't contact the main ship was unprecedented, though. To have not heard anything from them in such a long time led the men to believe that, unpleasant though it was, some grim news was probably headed their way.

*_beep beep! beep beep!_*

The men all swirled around as the motion sensor on their large control panel began going off.

"H-hey, there's something approaching the entrance..." one of them pointed out.

"Bring up the outside camera on the screen!" another instructed him.

There was a collective gasp in the room as the large monitor displayed the image of J's Salamence carefully landing outside the bunker's entrance with their leader lying on its back.

"It's J! She's alive!" one of the men shouted in exuberance. "Come on! Let's hurry!"

The crew rushed to the entrance and opened the blast doors, eager to check on the renowned Pokemon hunter.

"Commander J! Are you okay?" the tallest one approached her.

Still extremely weak, J tried to crawl off of Salamence, but her body wasn't cooperating with her after the ordeal it had been through. "I can't move. Pick me up!" she ordered the henchman.

"Y-yes, sir!" he obeyed, gently taking her from Salamence's back.

"Umm...where is the ship, sir?" another of the men asked.

"The ship is gone," J told him, words that the men couldn't believe they were hearing. "The ship, the crew, everything."

"No way..." one of them said in disbelief.

"Forget that! There's nothing we can do about it!" J barked at them. "How many men do we have here?"

The group looked around at each other uncomfortably before one answered. "Well...just the five of us, sir."

The silver-haired hunter wasn't happy at all with the information. It didn't come as a great shock to her, though. The majority of her crew always traveled on the main ship when they went out to perform jobs. Only a few stayed behind at the base to take orders from certain clients, manage supplies and ensure that no outsiders discovered the base's location.

"Alright, listen up!" J shouted to get their attention. "We're going to be running a small operation for a while. I won't tolerate any slacking off. Understand?"

"Yes, sir!" the crew responded in unison.

J looked up at the man carrying her. "I need you to treat my wounds, but hold on for a minute," she instructed him, turning her attention to a couple of the other men. "You two! Get in contact with any clients waiting on us to complete jobs and tell them there's going to be a slight delay. With their information networks, I'm sure they'll already know about what happened, but make sure you let them know that we _will_ be performing the jobs they requested soon. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!" the two quickly answered.

J then turned to the remaining two men. "And you two! I want you to gather every upgrade we've been planning for the ship and put them into a single file!"

"Y-yes, sir!" they responded.

She had lost her ship and most of her crew over the past 24 hours, costing her financial damages that she didn't even want to begin to total. Yet, despite her misfortune, J allowed an optimistic smirk to cross her face. "We're going to be commissioning a new ship."

* * *

**End of Chapter 1**


	2. A Horrible Person

_**Capture the Heart**_**  
by rkOujirou**

Author's note: This story is a continuation based on the Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl anime, starting from after the episode "The Battle Finale of Legend!".

Disclaimer: Pokemon is not my idea and I don't own it or any of the characters, obviously.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Increase engines to max power! Maintain our speed!"

Pokemon Hunter J bellowed instructions to her crew on the rapidly sinking airship, but the engines were already damaged beyond the point of functioning. She could only watch in dismay as her ship began to approach the fiercely spinning whirlpool below in Lake Valor.

The crew panicked and the ship shook violently as it crashed into the inner wall of the swirling water. J knew the ship was built to withstand rough conditions, but this was more than she'd expected having to deal with. Within seconds, the worst possible outcome presented itself. The ship's glass windows couldn't handle the incredible pressure from the whirlpool and began to crack. It wasn't long before they shattered completely.

The crewmen cried out in horror as the water poured in through the windows and swept them off their feet, engulfing them completely. J stood in place, frozen as she watched the water come for her. And then...

Gasping for air, a wide-eyed J sat up in the bed within her darkened room, trembling. She could feel the beads of sweat running down from her neck onto the sleeveless black undershirt she was wearing.

"Again..."

It was all just a nightmare, the same one she'd been having every time she'd tried to sleep over the past couple of days. She was thought to be fearless, even going so far as to battle legendary Pokemon when clients requested it of her, but the experience of being on her ship as it crashed into Lake Valor and filled with water was enough to shake even her. She still wasn't sure how she managed to get out alive. The last thing she remembered was being swept away in the water. When she woke up, her body was partly on the shore of the lake and her Salamence was standing over her. It was possible that her Pokemon had somehow gotten her out of the ship before it exploded, but J wasn't all that concerned with the details of her survival. The bottom line was that she was alive and there were still jobs from clients that needed to be completed, ship or no ship.

Frustrated by another failed attempt at some peaceful rest, J tossed her sheets aside and gingerly got out of bed. Her body hadn't been allowed enough time to recover just yet, making it an endeavor for her just to walk around. The silver-haired hunter made her way to the other side of the room and pressed a button on the wall, triggering the door to her bathroom to slide open. After flipping on the light, she ran some cold water in the sink and splashed it against her face, both to wash away the sweat and to help snap herself back to reality.

"Having nightmares like this...it's an embarrassment," she said, upset with herself. J firmly believed she was above this type of problem, so finding herself a victim of it all of a sudden left her none too happy.

The Pokemon hunter raised her head and looked into the mirror, gently rubbing the bandage that remained over the laceration on her forehead. Then, using her fingertips, she traced the path where the blood had flowed down her face after the incident, stopping once she reached her left cheek. She was in such poor shape two days ago that some of the events were now a blur in her mind, but one of the things she distinctly remembered was an annoying girl cleaning the dried blood away from her eye.

"Because she had a heart," J snorted, recalling Dawn's words to her. "One day that brat's going to learn that having a heart doesn't earn you a comfortable living in this world."

From her main room, J could hear the video communicator on the wall starting to beep, indicating that her crew was trying to reach her. She shut off the water in the sink and hurried out of the bathroom to accept the transmission.

"What is it?" J asked as the image of one of her men appeared on the communicator.

"Sir, Dr. Whittaker has contacted us about the new ship you requested," the crew member informed her.

"Good. Tell him I'll be right out," J instructed him.

"Sir!"

The transmission ended, and now J would have to endure the painful task of appropriately dressing herself to conduct business.

* * *

Inside the bunker's control center, the remaining members of J's crew were going about their tasks as usual when they noticed their leader entering the room. Dressed in her normal black and red attire with a functioning headset over her eyes, J's appearance was a comforting sight for the men who were dependent on her for their income. But as much as they wanted things to feel like normal again, the clear difficulty J was having just moving around reminded them that the renowned hunter was still recovering.

"Sir, would you like some help?" one of the men asked her. A furious look from J quickly knocked him back down into his seat, though.

"If I need your help, I'll ask for it! Understand?" J hissed at him.

"Y-yes, sir! Sorry, sir!" the crewman apologized profusely.

"Sir, Dr. Whittaker is waiting on our communications channel," another man informed her.

Walking over to the largest of the screens in the room, J made sure to stand herself up straight before she began the conversation. She wasn't going to give any of her clients or business associates reason to think that she was in anything less than top physical shape. "Put him through," she ordered.

The transmission started, and a bald, older man wearing a white lab coat appeared on the main screen. "Ahh, J. Good to see you're still among the living," he remarked.

"It's been a while, Dr. Whittaker," J greeted him with her usual stoic expression.

Dr. Whittaker, who looked to be in his early-to-mid 50's, was known across the world for his mechanical engineering skills. He was, however, a man who never allowed himself to be limited by morality. When people with underhanded agendas requested work of him that others never would, he accepted the requests for the sake of furthering his skill and pushing his own limits. He was the type of person that enjoyed the challenge more than the money he earned, which was always a significant sum, but his motives weren't important to J. The only thing relevant to her was that Whittaker was the best person available to build her new ship, and he was almost certainly up to the task.

"I must say, I thought for sure I'd lost one of my best customers when I heard that my poor ship crashed into Lake Valor this week. That's what happens when you take on legendary Pokemon, J," Whittaker warned her.

"I wouldn't be the best in this business if I turned down jobs just because they were dangerous, now would I?" J was quick to point out, already tiring of the talk of her incident. "So, will you build my ship for me?"

"Yes, yes, your ship. I saw the plans you sent me. Quite elaborate, even compared to the last one," the doctor noted. "It looks like it would be quite a bit of work to build, but I wouldn't be the best in _my_ business if I turned down a job just because it was a lot of work, now would I?"

"Glad to hear it," J replied, a smile crossing her face. "And the payment?"

"I'll send you an estimate when I have time to go over the plans a little more," Whittaker told her. "In any case, this ship will take longer to build than the last one. My best guess would be five to six months, but even that may be generous."

"Understood. I'll have my men check in periodically for progress reports," J said to him.

"Alright. I'll get to work on it as soon as possible," the older man grinned. "In the meantime, try not to get yourself killed. I'd hate to lose such a valuable client."

The large screen went blank as Dr. Whittaker ended the transmission, and J, who'd been struggling to keep her posture, promptly fell back against a console behind her. It had taken a lot out of her just to stay standing for that brief period of time.

"Uh...sir?" one of the men got her attention.

The silver-haired woman gave him a sharp look, thinking he was about to ask if she needed help again. "What is it?"

"Well, I didn't want to bother you before, but..." the crewman pointed to one of the smaller screens, "...we've got a small situation here."

Pulling herself up off of the console, J slowly moved closer until she had a clear view of the situation in question. The screen that the crewman was gesturing to had a live feed of the security camera at the entrance to their base, where there appeared to be a Snorunt ramming itself into their blast doors.

"A Snorunt?" J asked, sounding legitimately perplexed. "What is a wild Snorunt doing here? We're nowhere near any environment where they live."

"I don't know, but it sure seems to want in here," the crewman said.

"Sir, didn't you take a job near Snowpoint City earlier this year? Maybe that Snorunt spent this whole time following you back," another of the men joked.

The crew member had only said it in jest, but that suggestion helped J recall something that she'd forgotten months earlier. "Wait, I remember now," her face lit up with surprise. "That Snorunt...I don't know how, but it definitely followed us back from there."

"R-really?" the crewman blinked, astonished that he'd actually been right.

J looked down at him again. "Help me to the entrance. Now."

"Sir!"

Outside the base, the determined Snorunt rammed itself into the blast doors again and reeled backward from the impact. There was a bruise starting to show itself on the small creature's head from the repeated attempts to break through the doors, but it wasn't going to let a little pain stop it after it had come so far to find this place.

The Snorunt was ready to charge forward again when the doors suddenly opened on their own, startling it. Its demeanor quickly changed to anger, however, as it looked up and saw Pokemon Hunter J and her crewman staring down at it.

"Snorunt snorunt! Snorunt sno!" it pointed at them accusingly.

"It's definitely the same one," J confirmed for herself. "I guess I didn't teach you enough of a lesson before."

"Sno snorunt!" the ice-natured Pokemon boldly stood before her.

"Sir, do you know why it's here?" the crewman asked.

"I do. When we went to capture that Froslass for a client earlier in the year, this Snorunt put up a fight to save it," J looked upon the creature with amusement. "Persistent little nuisance, aren't you? You wanted to save your friend that badly?"

The Snorunt nodded its head, appearing to be growing even more upset. "Snorunt sno snorunt! Snorunt!"

"Why, you..." J's crewman growled, pulling a pokeball out from his pocket, "...I'll teach you to waste our time!"

"Wait," the silver-haired hunter held out her hand, abruptly stopping him.

The crewman glanced over at his boss, unsure why she would hesitate to take care of the problem. "Sir?"

"We've had that Froslass around for quite some time, haven't we?" J inquired.

"Uh...well, yes, we have," the crew member confirmed. "Actually, I think it's one of the oldest Pokemon in our inventory. The client who requested it backed out on us, and we haven't been able to find another buyer yet since it's just a run-of-the-mill Froslass."

"I see," J said. She appeared to be mulling something over for a moment as she stared down at the Snorunt. Finally, she came to a decision, and she gave her crewman another order. "Go get it."

"Sir...?"

"Just do it!"

"R-right!"

The man took off to retrieve the Pokemon, leaving J alone with the Snorunt for the time being. "I wonder...how were you able to track us all the way here?" J asked it, extremely interested in just how it had ended up in front of her base.

"Snorunt snorunt sno! Snorunt sno!" the smaller Pokemon griped at her.

J was good at many things, but translating what a Pokemon was saying wasn't one of them. "I guess that talking Meowth would have been useful, after all," she lamented.

"Sir! I've brought it just like you asked!" the crewman announced upon his return.

"Good," J replied, turning her attention to the encased Pokemon that her subordinate held. The crew member stood puzzled as his boss slid down the lever on the case, unfreezing the Froslass within.

Snorunt jumped up and down excitedly as Froslass began to move. "Snorunt! Sno snorunt!"

"Lass...?" the dreary Froslass looked around briefly, trying to ascertain where it was, and soon noticed its friend below. Clearly happy to see it, the Froslass hopped down from the case bottom and wrapped its arms around the Snorunt. "Lass froslass!"

The crewman raised an eyebrow as he looked J's way. "S-sir, what are you-?"

"I don't have any use for product that won't sell," J interrupted him, setting her sights on the two reunited Pokemon. "You two, get out of here now before I change my mind!"

The pair from the snowy region of Sinnoh were plenty upset over J's capturing of Froslass, but they both knew that trying to get some measure of revenge would result in a losing battle against Pokemon as strong as the ones J carried. The smartest thing to do right now was to hurry up and leave, and that was exactly what they chose to do as they began walking away from the base.

"Alright, let's head back inside," J instructed her crewman.

"Yes, sir! But, I've got to say, you really surprised there," the man laughed a bit. "Don't tell me you're starting to have a heart, sir?"

Absolutely enraged by the comment, J shot her crewman a look that could kill.

"U-um, sorry! That was out of line, sir!" the crew member immediately apologized.

Unfortunately, the damage was already done. Intent on proving her subordinate wrong, J pulled out a pokeball and tossed it into the air. "Salamence, use Hyper Beam on that Froslass and Snorunt!" she commanded.

The large, flying Pokemon let out a loud roar as it emerged from its pokeball and targeted the two smaller creatures trying to leave. With an orange mass of energy beginning to build in Salamence's mouth, the frightened Froslass and Snorunt started running as quickly as they could, but they simply couldn't get away in time. Salamence mercilessly unleashed its Hyper Beam on them, blowing them far off into the forest as a cloud of dirt from the ground rose up into the air after its attack.

Although he was used to seeing uncomfortable things in his line of work, even the crewman seemed somewhat disturbed by the show of cruelty toward the escaping Pokemon.

"Do I still have a heart? Well?" J snapped at the man.

"N-no, sir! Please forgive me!" the crewman frantically answered. He hurried back into the base ahead of his boss.

Feeling overexerted again, J leaned up against the entrance to her base for support, drawing a concerned look from Salamence. "_Why did that make me so upset?_" she wondered to herself. "_Was it just that idiotic question of his, or was it...?_"

After taking a long look at her Salamence, J hit a button on her headset to get in contact with her crew in the control center. "Close the doors. I need to take care of something."

* * *

"Mamoswine, use Ice Shard!"

"Grotle, Energy Ball!"

Nearing the end of a long battle, the two tiring Pokemon prepared their respective attacks as their trainers, Dawn and Ash, looked on. A green ball of energy started to build in Grotle's mouth, while a ball of ice continued to gain mass in-between Mamoswine's tusks. Once they were ready, the Pokemon unleashed their attacks on one another.

"Mamooo~!"

"Grotle!"

The two attacks collided, and a bright flash of light enveloped the field. After that light had faded, all that was left of the clashing moves was a thin coating of ice crystals falling on the grass.

"Wow, you two are awesome!" Ash commended them.

"Yeah, totally!" Dawn agreed. "Way to go, Mamoswine!"

Grotle and Mamoswine were both breathing heavily as they glared at each other from afar. They were exhausted, but neither one wanted to concede the battle to the other.

"Hey, you guys! Dinner's ready!" Brock called out from nearby.

"Great! We could use a break, anyway," Ash stepped up and patted his Pokemon atop its shell. "Nice job, Grotle. Let's go get some grub."

Dawn, meanwhile, walked over to her Mamoswine and rubbed the fur on its side. "Sounds good to me. You did great, Mamoswine."

The large Pokemon didn't seem quite as enthusiastic about ending the battle, however, as it began stomping its feet into the ground. "Mamo! Mamoo~!"

"Hey now, no arguing," Dawn insisted. "Besides, you can't get that energy of yours back unless you eat, right?"

Though reluctant to admit its trainer was right, a blushing Mamoswine gave in and nodded its head understandingly. "Mamo..."

"Right? Now come o-" Dawn started to say. But, at that very moment, a large shadow sweeping across the ground suddenly grabbed her attention. "Hmm?"

Looking toward the sky to locate the shadow's source, Dawn nearly fell over with fright when she spotted it. Hovering directly overhead was a large, imposing Salamence, and staring down at her from the creature's back was a very familiar-looking woman. That woman was usually seen standing atop Salamence, but her current condition had limited her to the point that she was riding it from a seated position.

"It's...it's J!" Dawn cried out in surprise.

"J!" Ash snarled up at the Pokemon hunter. Ready for a fight, he ran toward her with Pikachu, Piplup and Brock not far behind.

J's eyes, peering out through her headset, remained locked on Dawn. She still hadn't spoken a word as the young coordinator's friends gathered next to her.

"We're not letting you get any of our Pokemon, J!" Ash shouted up at the woman. "You hear me?"

"Quiet!" J finally lost her cool and snapped at the boy from Pallet Town. "I didn't come here for your Pokemon, you idiot!"

Ash was clearly skeptical of the ruthless hunter's reply, and with good reason. "Yeah, right! Why else would you be here?"

J turned her attention back to Dawn, and the younger girl was beginning to notice it.

"_Why does she keep staring at me? Is she still mad about the other night?_" Dawn nervously thought to herself.

Before coming here, J hadn't been entirely sure of what she was going to do once she found this little group—the same one that had been a pain in her side from the first day she'd seen them. Now that she'd arrived, she still didn't know what exactly she wanted to do. One thing she did know, though, was that she wanted to understand why the conversation several nights ago with one of the pests in particular was getting to her so much.

"You! Girl!" J called out to Dawn. "I want to talk to you."

Taken aback by the unexpected request, Dawn batted her eyes, wondering if she'd heard her right. "H-huh?" she stammered.

"You want to talk? To...Dawn?" Brock asked, shooting a confused look his friend's way.

"You heard me!" J reinforced her demand, pointing toward the Pokemon coordinator. "Now tell your friends to back off. You're coming with me."

"What? No!" Dawn refused without hesitation.

The Pokemon hunter narrowed her eyes at the girl. "Why not?" she inquired.

"Why not? Why would I _ever_ want to talk to you?" Dawn asked incredulously. "You're a horrible person!"

Although it wasn't easy to see, Brock noticed a slight change in the normally stoic J's expression. It was small enough that he had to wonder if he was just imagining things at first, but he still felt reasonably sure of what he'd seen.

"She's right! There's nothing any of us would ever want to talk to you about!" Ash said in agreement with his traveling companion.

Now the trio and their Pokemon were left to anxiously wonder what J's next move would be. Would she attack them? Would she try to steal their Pokemon, after all? As it turned out, however, the Pokemon hunter would do neither.

"Salamence, we're leaving," J instructed her Pokemon. It wasn't any sort of trick. There was nothing more to it. Without so much as a parting word to the group, J and Salamence took their leave and disappeared off into the distance.

"Was that...really it?" Ash blinked. He couldn't believe that Pokemon Hunter J had just left them unharmed. "Weird."

"Yeah, what was that all about?" Dawn asked, just as uncertain as Ash was.

Next to them, Brock wasn't entirely sure, but he had a gut feeling about what had just happened. "You know," he rubbed his chin as he spoke, "...as someone with an amazing intuition when it comes to women, I...I know it sounds strange, but...I think Dawn may have just hurt J's feelings."

"WHAT?" Dawn shrieked with disbelief. "Brock, this is J we're talking about! There's no way that's what happened!"

Brock folded his arms, staring up into the sky in the direction where the silver-haired woman had gone. "Sometimes it's the toughest-looking ones who have their feelings hurt the easiest," he firmly believed. "Still...I guess considering all of the awful things J's done, we probably shouldn't be too worried about her feelings."

"Of course we shouldn't!" Ash adamantly concurred. "She deserves to feel bad after treating Pokemon the way she has!"

"Y-yeah," Dawn offered a weak reply as she, too, looked to the sky. "_There's no way I could have hurt her feelings,_" she silently told herself, "_...is there?_"

* * *

**End of Chapter 2**


	3. The Last Visit

_**Capture the Heart**_**  
by rkOujirou**

Author's note: This story is a continuation based on the Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl anime, starting from after the episode "The Battle Finale of Legend!".

Disclaimer: Pokemon is not my idea and I don't own it or any of the characters, obviously.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

On a pleasant, sunny day in the eastern part of the Sinnoh region, Dawn sat at the edge of a cool stream with her legs resting in the water. She and her two traveling buddies were in the midst of a short break before gaining a little more ground en route to Sunyshore City. Ash had gone with Brock to collect some berries that might be useful for their journey, and while the boys were off doing that, Dawn decided to take the opportunity to let Piplup get some swimming in.

"Piplup~ pii piplup~" the small, water-type Pokemon sang, looking very content as it waded through the current.

"You're sure easy to please," Dawn giggled as she watched her Pokemon enjoy itself.

Three days had passed since the nefarious Pokemon Hunter J surprised Dawn and the others by showing up out of nowhere and demanding to talk to the young coordinator. It was an unusual encounter, to say the least, that ended with Dawn refusing to speak with J and calling her a horrible person, after which J promptly left in an uncharacteristically quiet manner. Dawn refused to believe it at first when Brock suggested that she may have hurt J's feelings by calling her horrible. Truthfully, she still didn't believe it. Even if that _were_ the case, though, hurting the feelings of someone as ruthless and harmful to Pokemon as J wouldn't cause most people to lose any sleep at night. Yet, somehow, the whole experience left a bad taste in Dawn's mouth.

As Piplup popped up from the water next to Dawn's leg, it felt a sudden urge to engage in some mischief and gave her a little splash.

"Hey, cut that out!" the blue-haired girl laughed. "Say, Piplup, do you think it was wrong of me to call J horrible?"

Having no idea why its trainer would even consider such a thing being wrong, Piplup vehemently shook its head in response. "Pii piplup pip piplup!"

"Yeah, I guess not," Dawn sighed. She spent a moment quietly staring down at the water flowing around her legs before she spoke again. "I know she really is horrible and all for what she does, but I guess I feel kind of bad about saying that to her. I'm not a mean person, you know? I don't ever say things like that to people."

Piplup looked at her like she was crazy for feeling even an ounce of guilt. "Piplup pip!"

"Well I can see how _you_ feel," Dawn smiled down at her Pokemon. "I guess I should just try to forget about it. If I really did hurt J's feelings, she'll probably stay away from us from now on anyway, right? And that's definitely a good thing."

"Pip piplup!" Piplup nodded its head in agreement. And, just for good measure, it gave its trainer another splash.

Dawn threw her arms up to block the water from getting onto her face, then shot Piplup a playful grin. "Ooh, you're _so_ going to pay for that!"

* * *

Meanwhile, a little ways east of Pastoria City, Pokemon Hunter J and three of her crew members were in the process of handing over a special Mightyena to one of their clients. The Mightyena, which had an unusual color to it, took little time to capture after being cornered by the crew's armored vehicle and facing the immobilizing ray gun on J's arm. Luckily for J, the capture required very little physical work on her part. She was able to move around better now after having had a few extra days to rest, but she was still far from fully healed.

As ordered by his commander, one of J's subordinates carried the encased Mightyena over to their client, who had brought a handful of his own henchmen along, as well.

"Wonderful! Truly splendid work," said the client, a portly, wealthy-looking man wearing a dark, pinstripe suit and tie. "I trust it wasn't too much trouble?"

"Not at all," J told him.

"Good, good," he smirked as he marveled over his newly-acquired Pokemon. "You have your requested payment. I hope we'll be able to do business again sometime."

With their deal concluded, the man and his entourage hopped back into their luxury car with the Mightyena and departed.

"Now that's just how I like a job! Quick and painless!" one of J's men celebrated.

"I hear ya!" another of the crewmen bumped fists with him. "Time to head back and relax!"

"QUIET!" J's voice suddenly blared out, commanding the attention of all three members of her crew. "You were all sloppy today! There wasn't a single thing you did right!"

While there was some disagreement with their boss's opinion, only one of the men dared to open his mouth about it. "B-but, sir-" he tried to argue.

The crewman wouldn't get any further, though, as J reared back and delivered a stinging slap to his face. "Don't you ever question me!" J snarled at him. "Understand?"

"Yes, sir!" the crewman with the reddened cheek quickly responded.

"Good!" J shouted at the man. She then stepped away from her nervous crew and walked over to her Salamence. "We're heading back to base! Get moving!"

The crew scurried into the armored vehicle, and not one of them wasn't thankful that their commander was riding Salamence instead of joining them.

"Man, that hurt!" the crewman who'd been slapped rubbed his cheek. "She's had a really short fuse these past few days. What gives?"

"She's been like that ever since she left the base on her own the other day," one of the others replied. "Something must have happened."

"Yeah. Whatever it is, we just need to lay low, do what she says, and try not to make her mad until she's over it," the third crewman chimed in.

While the crew's vehicle sped off along the ground, J took to the air. Even though she ran more of a risk of being spotted this way, the vehicle her crew used was too cramped for her tastes. J remained cautious, however, having Salamence fly at a low altitude so she wouldn't be spotted from afar.

As her crew had found out the hard way, the renowned Pokemon hunter had been in a volatile mood ever since her most recent encounter with Dawn. J's crew had actually performed well today, but she was still so angry from the other day that she took her frustrations out on them anyway.

"_Why?_" J thought to herself, the wind whipping through her hair. "_I've been called far worse and never batted an eye, so why is it that some brat calling me horrible is sticking with me for this long?_"

J's present frame of mind was something that made no sense to her. Certainly, losing her ship and most of her crew not even a week ago was good reason for her to be in a foul mood. But her health had since improved, she and her crew were back to fulfilling client requests, and she had a new and improved ship already in the process of being built. All things considered, the current state of her operation wasn't bad at all.

The silver-haired hunter just couldn't bring herself to be pleased about the way things were, though. Those four words, "you're a horrible person," were constantly replaying in her head like a broken record. It wasn't even the words so much that ate away at her; anyone else could have said them and she wouldn't have cared. Rather, what was getting to her was most likely the person who had uttered those words.

"_That girl,_" J's face contorted with irritation as Dawn entered her mind, "_...I don't know why she bothers me so much, but if she's going to be a distraction to my work...then maybe I should do something about her._"

"Heeeeeelp!" a voice suddenly cried out.

J had to brace herself as Salamence abruptly slowed its forward motion. "Salamence! What are you doing?" she questioned her Pokemon.

Without being told to do so, the winged Pokemon gradually came to a halt and began to descend below the line of treetops. Its master was about to inquire about its activity again when Salamence stopped its descent so that it was hovering near a particular tree.

In that tree, on one of the branches high off the ground, was a tearful, brown-haired little girl with pigtails who immediately locked eyes with J. "Ah!" the little girl's face lit up with hope. "Please help me, lady! Please!"

J, however, had no interest in the girl's plight. Instead of answering the plea, J completely ignored her as she looked down at Salamence. "This has nothing to do with us," she said. "Let's go."

"Wa-wait!" the girl cried, stretching her hand out toward the callous woman. "Please don't leave me here! I'll fall! Please!"

"And whose fault is that?" J admonished her. "You got yourself up there, you can find a way down."

"No, I'm too scared! I'll fall!" the little girl wept, inching closer to J. "Please help me!"

Then, the girl heard a cracking sound coming from the branch she was on. Moving further out along the branch had put increased pressure on the wood, and it simply couldn't hold her weight any longer.

The branch broke off from the tree completely, sending it and the terrified girl plummeting downward. The girl screamed and closed her eyes, hoping she was just about to wake up from some horrible nightmare, and for a moment she believed that was exactly what had happened. While she heard the sound of the tree branch crashing against the earth, she herself somehow remained fine. She didn't even feel like she was falling anymore.

The girl slowly opened her eyes, and was a bit startled to find that she was still hanging far off the ground. Sensing now that something had a hold of her, she looked up and to her left. Then, triggered by what she saw, tears of gratitude began rolling down the little girl's cheeks. As it turned out, it was J who had grabbed the back of her pink dress and kept her from falling.

"Thank you so much!" the girl whimpered, wiping the tears away from her face.

"Tch, what a pest," J snorted. She had no idea why she had even bothered saving the runt. "Salamence, head down to the ground."

J couldn't get rid of the girl fast enough once Salamence had landed, as she let go of her dress and dropped her immediately. "If you don't want to fall, then don't climb trees in the first place!" she chided the girl one last time. "Now go home!"

Despite J's harsh tone, the girl wore a big smile on her face, happily nodding her head as she continued to dry her tear-soaked eyes. "I will," she laughed, just thankful that someone had come to her rescue. "You look really cool, lady. I hope I can be like you one day. Bye-bye!"

With a quick wave, the little girl took off running back to where she lived.

Salamence had been expecting its master to give the order to head back to base now that the little girl was out of her hair. J, however, remained quiet, prompting Salamence to glance back at her. The Pokemon hunter's facial expression wasn't any different from usual, but she was staring ahead blankly as though she were lost in thought about something.

Finally, J noticed her Pokemon's curious stare and snapped back to reality. "Let's go," she commanded.

* * *

Without a Pokemon Center nearby to stay at, Ash, Dawn and Brock set up camp for the night in the early evening. It was later, after Ash, Brock and all of the Pokemon had fallen asleep, that a pajama-clad Dawn remained awake inside her tent with Piplup slumbering next to her.

Dawn's quest for her fifth contest ribbon had hit a snag in the Lilypad Town contest when Mamoswine lost its temper in an eventual defeat to Jessilina. That was something Dawn had come to consider a valuable learning experience, though. Now, with the aid of a notebook and a flashlight, the second-generation coordinator was playing with ideas to use in her next attempt for a fifth ribbon in Daybreak Town.

"Hmm...maybe something like this would work," she spoke quietly as she scribbled something down on the notebook paper. "Wait, but wouldn't Cyndaquil...no, it might still work."

Dawn peeked over at Piplup as the small Pokemon flipped onto its side next to her, continuing to peacefully sleep the night away. "Maybe I should call it a night, too," she told herself, letting out a big yawn. After turning off the flashlight and putting away her notebook, there was just one last thing she had to do before she could turn in for the night. "Mmm...I think I need a bathroom break first."

Careful not to awaken Piplup or her friends in the other tent, Dawn slowly unzipped her tent's entrance and poked the upper half of her body outside. As she would soon find out, however, she wasn't alone. Out of nowhere, a gloved hand wrapped around her mouth from behind, prompting Dawn to let out a muffled scream.

"Shhh!" the unknown individual shushed her, trying to make sure she stayed quiet.

Horribly startled, Dawn quickly looked back over her shoulder to see whether it was a friend or a foe that had a hold of her. Upon first sight of a pair of cold eyes peering at her through the mystery person's headset, the answer appeared to be overwhelmingly foe. Though it was dark, there was no mistaking the person's silver hair and unique outfit. It was the one and only Pokemon Hunter J.

"_Oh no, it's J again! I've got to warn Ash and Brock!_" Dawn frantically thought to herself.

The young coordinator was about to try breaking free to call out to her friends, but J put a finger to her own lips to warn her not to try it. "Make one sound and I'll have Salamence blast your friends' tent," J whispered threateningly to the girl. "If you don't want them harmed, then follow me. Quietly."

Dawn clenched her teeth as J let go of her. Unfortunately, her friends were vulnerable right now. For the sake of their safety, she had no choice but to do as J said. Thus, being as quiet as could be, she exited her tent and followed the woman away from the campsite. J's Salamence trailed closely behind.

"_How does she keep finding us?_" Dawn silently wondered. J's visits were becoming far too regular an occurrence for comfort. "_This is really bad. She was already mad about that one night after her ship crashed, and now she's probably even more mad after I called her horrible. __What should I do?_"

Once they were out of sight and out of hearing range from the tents, J came to a stop, prompting the nervous girl in pajamas to do the same.

"What are you going to do with me?" Dawn asked, sounding anxious but also upset after the threat made to her friends.

Strangely, J didn't appear to be exhibiting any anger at the moment. She didn't say a word as she silently faced away from Dawn, perfectly still.

"Well?" Dawn pressed her again. "If you're just going to stand there, then-"

"I helped a little girl out of a tree today," J cut her off.

"You...what?" Dawn blinked.

Finally, J spun around to look into the eyes of the confused girl. "She said I looked cool," she added.

Dawn was at a loss for words. Was she really hearing these things coming from Pokemon Hunter J? No, it didn't matter. This was J she was talking to. Even if what the woman said was true, it was just one positive deed in a sea of negative ones.

"And?" Dawn folded her arms as she glared over at J. "Is that supposed to make up for all of the awful things you've done?"

"It wasn't to make up for anything," J was quick to point out. "You say the things I do are awful, and you call me a horrible person, but you and I see things differently."

"How is capturing a Pokemon against its will and selling it anything but awful?" Dawn defended her stance.

"You don't understand anything!" J snapped back at the younger girl with enough ferocity to make her jump. "You've lived so warm and comfortably up until now that you don't even comprehend the meaning of struggle! You would _never_ understand what it means to have to scrape and claw for what you get in life!"

Dawn stayed quiet, appearing shocked by the strength behind the woman's words.

"Those things that you call awful? I do them for my very survival. The characteristics that you say make me a horrible person? They were born from my will to stay alive and provide for myself," the Pokemon hunter went on. "Maybe one day when you're older you'll understand, but right now your opinions are nothing more than naive and childish."

Dawn hung her head, clearly affected by what J had just said to her. While she didn't agree with everything the woman was saying, part of her recognized some of what was said to be true. She was young, yes, and she hadn't gone through any great struggle in her life. Had things been different, maybe she would have been of the same opinion as J. But, still...

"No," Dawn looked up at J again. "Maybe some of what you said is true, but I would never see treating Pokemon like you do as anything but bad, J."

The Pokemon hunter stood there for a moment, just staring into Dawn's unwavering eyes. Then, with a deep exhale, she turned around and slowly began walking toward Salamence. "That's fine. I didn't expect you to understand completely," she spoke. "Maybe I just thought you would understand a little."

Just like the last time J had shown herself before Dawn, she appeared to be leaving without doing any harm to anyone. That was a good result, of course, but it still didn't sit well with Dawn. There was something the girl wanted to know first.

"Wait a minute!" Dawn called out to J. "Why do you keep coming to find us? Why do you care so much about what I think?"

"That's what I'd like to know," J muttered to herself, gingerly climbing onto Salamence's back. "Don't worry, you can relax from now on. You're a distraction to my work and I can't afford that, so this is the last you'll be seeing of me."

Before Dawn could say anything more, Salamence began its ascent into the night sky. J was raised high up into the air, all the while keeping her gaze focused on the girl below. Then, for the last time, she looked away. "Let's go. We're heading back to base," she instructed her Pokemon.

Soon enough, J and Salamence were gone again, leaving Dawn there to wonder what on earth had just happened. "She left," Dawn said softly, still watching in the direction where J had disappeared to. "Well...good! I don't _ever_ want to see her again! She's still a horrible person!"

Dawn began her trek back to the campsite to get some sleep, already having forgotten about her prior plan to go to the bathroom first. However, she couldn't help looking back at the sky just once more. "J...I don't get you. Not one bit."

* * *

**End of Chapter 3**


	4. Savior

_**Capture the Heart**_**  
by rkOujirou**

Author's note: This story is a continuation based on the Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl anime, starting from after the episode "The Battle Finale of Legend!".

Disclaimer: Pokemon is not my idea and I don't own it or any of the characters, obviously.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

In a rocky area near Daybreak Town, an armored, six-wheeled vehicle pulled up next to a cliff. With the job of hunting down an Electivire underway, three of Pokemon Hunter J's men exited the vehicle and lined up alongside one another, watching as their leader descended from the sky on her Salamence.

Once her Pokemon had landed, J hopped down from its back and approached her crew. "Any problems to report?" she asked.

"No, sir! Everything is going as planned!" one of the crewmen answered.

It had been two weeks since J had last spoken with Dawn. After a conversation that hadn't been much more pleasant than their previous ones, J had told the girl that she was a distraction to her work and that she wouldn't be seeing her anymore. Thus far, she had lived up to those words.

From that night onward, life was back to being strictly business for the notorious Pokemon hunter. Her body gradually recovered to the point that the damage resulting from her ship's accident at Lake Valor was no longer inhibiting her. She and her small team fulfilled a number of client requests without a great deal of trouble or interference, and with every day that passed, Dawn was less and less a part of J's thoughts. The old saying, "out of sight, out of mind," was proving to be very true.

J was definitely back in her comfort zone after putting her encounters with Dawn behind her. Yet, somehow, she couldn't help feeling that something was off. More than ever, her work felt like just that; work. The rush of excitement she used to get while performing jobs, as well as the pride she felt at being the self-proclaimed best in her business...they just weren't there recently.

However, despite her lack of enthusiasm as of late, J never let it affect her work ethic. Clients sent her job requests, and she and her team needed to fulfill them to earn their pay. That was all there was to it.

"Make sure everything is prepared and working," J ordered her men. "Once that's finished, we'll move out and search for our target."

* * *

Not far from Daybreak Town themselves, Ash, Dawn and Brock were making their second pass through the area after a brief visit to Sunyshore City.

"Man, you sure are looking at those ribbons a lot," Ash poked fun at his female traveling companion.

Next to him, Dawn's eyes sparkled as she walked with her ribbon case open, complete with her newly acquired Daybreak Town contest ribbon. "I know, but I just can't believe I'm going to compete in the Grand Festival!" she beamed happily.

Though Dawn was still pondering her last encounter with J for a few days after it happened, it was easy to get her mind off of it once the time came to make a second attempt at her fifth contest ribbon. In the Daybreak Town contest, Ursula's combination of Plusle and Minun had brought back some unpleasant memories and given Dawn all she could handle in the battle stage. In the end, though, Dawn's Pokemon duo of Mamoswine and Cyndaquil emerged victorious, earning the coordinator her fifth ribbon and a spot in the Sinnoh Grand Festival.

The group had since gone to Sunyshore City so that Ash could battle Volkner for his eighth and final badge, but a failed scheme by Team Rocket had left Volkner's gym in need of some repairs that would have to be completed before any gym battles could take place. Thus, the three of them departed Sunyshore City for the time being and began heading for Lake Valor, the site of the Grand Festival.

"That brings back memories of May when she got her fifth ribbon," Brock got a laugh out of Dawn's enthusiasm.

"Yeah, she was pretty psyched, too, wasn't she?" Ash recalled their old friend from Hoenn. "She ended up doing pretty good at the Hoenn Grand Festival."

"I bet. She was awesome when I faced her in the Wallace Cup," Dawn chimed in. "Hopefully we'll be able to do even better. Right, Piplup?"

"Piplup pip!" her Pokemon nodded its head.

"_Excuse me! You there!_"

Ash, Dawn and Brock came to an abrupt stop as three people, led by a woman with long, red hair, suddenly jumped out into the path in front of them.

"Whoa! Who are you guys?" a startled Ash asked them.

"Hello there!" the woman greeted them with a big smile. She was dressed in very professional looking attire, including glasses and a dark-colored jacket and skirt. "Try to contain your excitement, you three! My team and I are journalists from the greatest magazine running in the region today, 'Inside Sinnoh!' Surely you've heard of us?"

Ash looked anything but impressed as he shot a glance over at Brock. "I've...never heard of them. Have you?"

"No, never," Brock shook his head. "Have you, Dawn?"

Dawn, the only Sinnoh native amongst them, rubbed her chin as she tried to recall if she'd ever heard such a magazine mentioned. "Well, it doesn't ring a bell, to be honest."

"My goodness, you three don't pay much attention to what's happening in the world, do you?" the red-haired woman laughed at their expense. "In any case, this is a wonderful time for us! We're doing our special issue all about the Sinnoh Grand Festival, and people have absolutely been buzzing about the rookie coordinator, Dawn!"

"M-me?" Dawn stammered, clearly surprised.

"Oh, absolutely!" the woman nodded her head. "We've been doing short articles on all of the most popular coordinators entering the Grand Festival this year, and our readers would just _love_ to see you included! Would you mind giving us a quick interview and letting us take a picture or two? It wouldn't take long."

Flattered by the journalist's sweet talk, a wide grin crossed Dawn's now blushing face. "Well...I-I guess I could, if people are that interested," she said, turning to her friends. "Is it okay, you guys?"

"Hey, it's alright with me. Go for it, Dawn," Ash urged her on.

"Yeah, don't mind us. We'll just take a little break over here," Brock said in agreement.

"Oh, no! We can't have that!" the well-dressed woman protested. "We often have trainers and coordinators pose for photos with their friends, you see. In fact, we encourage it! You two are certainly welcome to be in the pictures as well."

"Wow, really?" Dawn smiled, glad that the others could join in. "Isn't that great, guys? Let's all do this!"

"Sure, that sounds cool!" Ash replied.

Brock gave a thumbs up to show that he was on board, too. "Okay. Count me in."

"Splendid! Why don't we take the pictures first then," the woman suggested, turning her attention to her other two team members. "You two! Please prepare the scene!"

The other two, who both had cameras with them, each wore shades and were dressed in grungy, light-colored clothes. One of them had short, blue hair, while the other, a much smaller person, wore an old baseball cap. "Yes, ma'am!" they answered her together.

In a flash, the pair of cameramen set up a backdrop with a stylish "Inside Sinnoh" logo on it. Once that was finished, they then whipped up a rectangular table with a red cloth hanging over it that hung all the way down to the ground.

"Perfect!" the red-haired woman admired the props. "Now then, I think what we'll have you three do is put all of your pokeballs on the table and stand behind them for the picture. And since your Pikachu and Piplup are already out, you can just set them on the table the way they are."

"You want our pokeballs in the picture?" Ash asked, a bit unsure of the idea.

"Of course! Pokemon like to be recognized, too!" the woman explained. "It's a shame they can't all be out of their pokeballs, but I believe that would take too much of the focus away from Dawn. This way they can at least still be a part of the picture."

"Oh, I get it. Well, how 'bout it, Pikachu?" Ash glanced over at his shoulder where his Pokemon had been perched. Strangely, it was nowhere to be found. "Pikachu?"

"Looks like they're okay with it," Brock laughed, directing Ash to look toward the props.

Both standing atop the table that was just set up, Pikachu and Piplup appeared to be having a posing contest, each one trying to come up with a look that would make them stand out more than the other.

"Pika!"

"Piplup!"

"Pika pikachu!"

"Pii piplup pip!"

Ash got a chuckle out of the competition as well. "Guess that settles it," he shrugged. "C'mon, Dawn."

"I'll just be a second," Dawn told him. She seemed to be in her own world for a moment as she used her pocket mirror to fix up her hair. If she was going to have her picture taken, she wanted to look her best.

Once the featured coordinator was ready, she, Ash and Brock all set their pokeballs out on the table around Pikachu and Piplup.

"How's that?" Dawn asked the magazine representatives.

"Just perfect!" the woman said approvingly. "Now, you three go stand behind the table, please. Dawn, you'll be standing in the center."

The trainers followed the woman's instructions, each of them upbeat about the prospect of having a picture of themselves featured in a magazine. Their attitudes would change in a hurry, though. Once they were all in position, the ground beneath them suddenly gave way to a hidden trap.

A range of surprised cries rang out as everyone felt themselves falling. Ash and Brock would both drop a full 15 feet down into a pit that had opened up below, hitting hard upon impact with the bottom. Somehow, Dawn managed to hang onto the ledge of the pit with one arm, but there was no telling how long she would be able to avoid the same drop that her friends had endured.

"Wh-what is this?" Ash groaned, rubbing his backside after the fall.

Up above, Pikachu and Piplup were staring down into the pit when, without warning, the table they stood on opened up beneath their feet. Both Pokemon, as well as all of the group's pokeballs, fell right into another cleverly disguised trap.

"No! Piplup!" Dawn yelled. She shot a nasty glare at the red-haired woman. "Hey, what's going on here?"

The sound of heinous laughter echoed from above as the three journalists shed their disguises and flung the red cover off the table, unveiling a special see-through case that contained all of the Pokemon. The magazine representatives were none other than Team Rocket all along, and they'd fooled the three travelers yet again.

"What's that? Some twerps that I hear?" Jessie held her hand to her ear.

"Oh, yes! And from within our pit, I fear!" James smirked.

"Such a great success makes me wanna cheer!" Meowth exclaimed.

Jessie placed one hand against her heart and threw her other up into the air. "Digging holes truly is our bread and butter!"

Beside her, James took up a similar stance. "And this one's so deep, it makes even me shudder!"

The three Team Rocket members struck a final, symmetrical pose next to the case containing their swag.

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Meowth, that's a name!"

"Putting the do-gooders in their place..."

"...we're Team Rocket..."

"...and we're in your face!"

Pikachu and Piplup pounded on the side of the case in an effort to break free, but to no avail. Team Rocket had learned from its failures and taken the necessary measures to make sure the Pokemon couldn't escape.

"Not you guys again," Brock grumbled.

"Team Rocket!" Ash snarled up at the criminal trio. "Give us back our Pokemon right now!"

"Right after we successfully swiped them from you? I think not!" Jessie cackled. "This plan worked out perfectly! Now you're stuck and we have every last one of your Pokemon! Too bad!"

"But Jess, look," James pointed to Dawn's hand. "The twerpette is still holding on."

Dawn hadn't fallen yet, but she was clearly struggling to hold onto the pit's ledge.

"Who cares? She ain't got no Pokemon anyway," Meowth smirked.

Jessie had to agree with their Pokemon partner in crime. "Meowth is right, just leave her. We need to get Pikachu and the others to the boss, pronto!"

"And then we'll get a handsome reward!" James joyously exclaimed.

Jessie and James each picked up one end of the case containing the Pokemon, and then they, along with Meowth, rushed away from the scene in a hurry.

"No! Get back here!" Dawn shouted at them.

Upset with himself, Ash slammed his fist against the side of the pit. "Urgh! I should have known it was them!"

"This hole is going to be tough to get out of," Brock noticed, surveying the deep trap they'd fallen victim to. "Dawn, think you can crawl out?"

"I'm...trying!" Dawn grit her teeth as she held on. With some effort, she managed to grab hold of the ledge with her other hand. "Okay, now for the tough part!"

Using every ounce of energy her muscles could muster, Dawn slowly began pulling herself up over the rim of the pit. With the first burst, she got her elbows out. Then, after catching her breath for a few seconds, she got her shoulders to the top.

"You can do it, Dawn! Keep going!" Ash encouraged her from down below.

Her willpower driving her, Dawn planted her hands and fingers firmly into the ground and pulled her entire upper body up out of the pit. After that, all that was left to complete the tiring task was to whip her legs up over the ledge and onto the grass along with the rest of her. "Whew!" she exhaled deeply once it was all over.

"Good work, Dawn!" Brock called out to her. "Now...what to do?"

"We've got to get out of here, too!" Ash said anxiously. "But how long will it take? By the time we do, Team Rocket might have gotten away."

"Yeah. This is a problem," Brock had to admit.

Up above, Dawn peeked her head over the ledge to look down at the boys. "Hey, you guys! I'm going to follow Team Rocket!"

"Huh? But Dawn-" Brock started to protest.

"They're already getting away!" Dawn interrupted him. "Someone needs to keep an eye on them and see where they go, or we might never get our Pokemon back!"

"She's right, Brock," Ash insisted.

Brock didn't like the idea of Dawn dealing with Team Rocket on her own, but their options in this situation were extremely limited. "Okay! You go find them and we'll try to get out of here on our own," he grudgingly agreed. "But be careful, Dawn! Remember, you don't have your Pokemon!"

"I know!" Dawn replied, showing she understood. "If I pass someone on the way, I'll ask them to come help you!"

With time of the essence, Dawn got to her feet and ran off in the direction she saw Team Rocket heading in, hopeful that her friends could find their own way out of the pit and join her soon. For several minutes she ran as fast as she could, looking every which way to see if she could spot Team Rocket or their Meowth-shaped balloon. So far, she wasn't having any luck.

"Come on, where are they?" she asked herself, feeling more panicked with every second that passed. "I can't lose Piplup and the others! I just can't!"

After another minute had gone by, Dawn spotted what appeared to be the edge of a cliff up ahead of her. "Oh, no! Did they go in a different direction?" she fretted, worried that she may have lost them.

Dawn came to a stop and looked down as she came upon the cliff's edge. It was a sizable drop, easily making the coordinator nervous just from thinking about it. However, there was also something that stood out down below, and it looked to be rising up into the air. "There!" she shouted, spotting the top of Team Rocket's signature balloon coming closer. "But...what do I do?"

The balloon was rising fast. If a decision was going to be made, it would need to be made very quickly, and Dawn knew it. Her heart racing all of a sudden, Dawn's wobbly legs took a couple of steps back to give her some extra room. "This is a bad idea. This is a REALLY bad idea," her voice shook with fear. "But I...I won't let them have our Pokemon no matter what!"

Summoning up all of her courage, Dawn got a running start and leaped from the cliff's edge. It was a rash decision that could have been disastrous, but luckily, she was able to land directly on top of the balloon. Unfortunately, there was also some give to the balloon when she landed, and it ended up bouncing her right back into the air. Everything would have been fine if she'd bounced straight upward, but she also veered to the side, and was now in danger of falling.

"AHHH!" Dawn shrieked. Frantic to save herself, she reached out and grabbed onto the point of the balloon's ear, which bent downward due to the extra weight applied to it. Dawn swung down and bumped into the side of the balloon, managing to keep hold of the ear portion throughout. She was safe for now, but she was still dangling off the side of the contraption with an unforgiving drop awaiting her if she let go.

"Oh gosh, this really was a bad idea! Someone help me!" Dawn cried out.

Inside the balloon's basket, Team Rocket picked up on the extra noise.

"I say, did you hear something?" James put his hand by his ear.

"I thought I did," Jessie concurred. "It sounded like the twerpette, but that can't be right."

Eager to solve the mystery, Meowth began scouring the outside of the basket for the source of the racket. Once it got a good look at the side of their balloon, the issue became clear. "Hey, guys! It _is_ the twerpette!"

Jessie and James joined their partner at the edge of the basket and took in the sight of their freeloader. Piplup and Pikachu could see the predicament Dawn was in from within their case as well, and both looked extremely concerned for her.

"Set this thing down, now!" Dawn demanded.

James laughed at the very idea. "And why would we do that? You can't do anything to us from up there!" he reminded her. "If you let go, you'll fall to your doom!"

"Exactly! We don't have any reason to listen to you!" Jessie chimed in. "You'll just have to hold on until we decide to land. But I wonder, just how long can you last?"

Dawn was realizing more and more now just how terrible of a situation she'd gotten herself into. Not only was Team Rocket unwilling to land the balloon, but her arms were already tired from dragging herself out of their pit earlier. "I'm never letting you guys get away!" she fumed at the confident criminals, trying to ignore the burning sensation in her arms. "This is bad, but...I can't let go! I've got to hold on!"

* * *

Meanwhile, over at her team's current position, Pokemon Hunter J was growing anxious as her crew finished the final checks on their equipment.

"Preparations are complete, sir!" one of the crew members finally announced.

"It's about time," J complained after the long wait. "Let's move o-"

"W-wait just a moment!" another of the men, who was seated inside the armored vehicle, cut her off. "Sir, I think you should see this!"

Faced with yet another delay, J was finding it increasingly difficult to keep her cool. The urgency in her subordinate's voice _did_ lead her to believe there may be a legitimate issue, though. It better have been legitimate for the man to brashly interrupt her like that, anyway. Thus, J answered the summons and stepped over to the vehicle to assess the problem.

"Look at this," the crew member directed his boss's attention to a radar screen. "There seems to be something headed this way from the west."

J could see that he was right, and she looked off toward the western sky to see if she could spot anything. Sure enough, there was something floating through the air off in the distance, but it was too far away to see what exactly it was with her own eyes. "Use our camera to zoom in on it," she ordered the man.

After setting the camera's position properly, the crewman brought its feed up on the in-vehicle screen and began zooming in on the flying object. "It looks like a balloon of some kind," he said, continuing to bring it into focus. "And it appears to be shaped like...a Meowth?"

"A Meowth balloon," J snorted, the realization of who it was putting her mind at ease. "Probably the same idiots we've run into a couple of times before. They won't be a problem."

"There's something else, too," the crewman took a closer look at the screen. "Someone seems to be hanging from the side of the balloon."

Putting her heart of ice on display, J stepped out of the vehicle, not at all interested in the unknown individual's potential danger. "That's not a concern of ours. Leave it be."

Despite his boss's disinterest, the crewman kept zooming in with the camera. "Hmm...long hair, pink skirt...it looks like it's a young girl."

Though she didn't care one bit about the situation before, J suddenly felt a lump grow in her throat. Long hair? Pink skirt? There was no way it was _her_, she told herself. Still, she needed to know for sure. "Move it!" she rushed back into the vehicle, nearly knocking her subordinate over as she jumped in front of the screen.

The shocked expression on J's face told the story. The camera feed was clear enough that there was no mistaking the girl's long, blue hair or her attire. It was Dawn hanging from the balloon, and she looked to be in serious trouble.

"So...what should we do, sir?" the crewman asked her.

Clenching her teeth, J slammed her right palm against the video screen and pressed down on it roughly. "_This isn't my concern. I've put that naive brat behind me,_" she silently tried to convince herself. "_I am not going to get involved with her any further! I decided that! Didn't I?_"

The crew member next to J batted his eyes in confusion, unsure what to make of his commander's unusual change in demeanor. "Um...sir?"

* * *

Over on the side of Team Rocket's balloon, Dawn was reaching her physical limit. Not only was the strength in her arms about to give out, but her palms were starting to sweat, causing her to lose her grip on the balloon's ear.

"She's held on longer than I thought she would," James praised the coordinator's tenacity.

"Too long, if you ask me," Jessie retorted in annoyance. "I'm going to have Yanmega knock her off!"

"Wahh! Jess, stop! If Yanmega busts the balloon, we'll go flyin'!" Meowth tried to reason with her.

Jessie appeared as though she were just becoming aware of this fact, but she wouldn't ever admit it to her fellow Team Rocket members. "I knew that!" she barked in her defense.

Her grip on the ear now loosening to a dangerous degree, Dawn's hands slowly slid down toward the tip. "I...I can't hold on anymore! Help me!" she pleaded.

"Oh, just hurry up and fall already!" Jessie snarled at her.

Dawn inched further down, right to the very tip of the ear. She couldn't hang on any longer, and she certainly didn't have the strength to climb back up to the top of the balloon. If Team Rocket was unwilling to help her, there was simply nothing she could do. "Ash! Brock! Someone! HELP!" she cried out.

Then, despite her best efforts, the last bit of the balloon's ear slipped out of Dawn's grasp, and a horrified look came over her as she was sent on a free fall toward the ground. "AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Oopsie! She let go," Jessie mockingly waved down at the plummeting girl. "Bye-bye no-...huh?"

The three Team Rocket members watched in dismay as someone or something swooped in from out of nowhere and snagged Dawn right out of the air. The rescue had occurred so far below the elevation of their balloon, however, that the group couldn't get a good look at the mystery savior.

"Uh, Jess? What exactly was that?" James blinked.

Down below, Dawn could feel that her back had landed against something, but she was so shaken from the fall that she wasn't able to think clearly at first. She seemed to be alive. That was good. She didn't know _how_ she was alive, but it was good. Maybe she'd landed on something really soft, or something like that. Now that she thought about it, though, she'd really _just_ started falling, hadn't she? Wasn't it way too soon for her to have hit the ground?

"STUPID!" a woman's voice suddenly boomed in Dawn's ear.

Her heart nearly beating out of her chest, Dawn slowly looked over to her side, where a pair of fiery, familiar eyes were glaring down at her through a transparent headset. Not believing what she was seeing, she let out a surprised gasp. "J?"

"You're an idiot!" Pokemon Hunter J yelled at her again, holding the girl in her arms. "What were you thinking? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Still trying to piece things together, Dawn assessed her surroundings to try to understand what exactly had happened. There was still nothing but blue sky around her, and the wind whipping up against her seemed to indicate that she was moving. And J, of all people, was here with her. Given all of that, she had apparently been caught by J from the looks of it, and the two of them were now flying through the air aboard J's Salamence.

"You...saved me?" Dawn turned her gaze back to the woman.

J didn't know who she was more aggravated with: Dawn for getting into this predicament in the first place, or herself for giving in and coming to save her. "I can still let you drop the rest of the way if I feel like it," she was happy to point out. "What were you doing hanging onto that balloon?"

With all the panic brought about by her fall, Dawn had momentarily forgotten about the whole reason she was up there. It was because of Team Rocket, and they still had the Pokemon belonging to she and her friends.

"Oh, no!" Dawn cried out, realizing she'd lost sight of the thieves. In an effort to ascertain the position of Team Rocket's balloon again, she wrapped her arms around J's neck and pulled herself upward so that she could look over the Pokemon hunter's shoulder. Much to her relief, the Meowth-shaped balloon was still in sight. "There they are! I need to go after them!"

Dawn, intent on resuming her pursuit of Team Rocket, pulled herself away from J so that she could speak to her. That was when she noticed the woman looking...different than usual. J's often cold eyes had opened wide, and her cheeks were turning a light shade of pink. "J?" Dawn blinked.

For all the toughness she was accustomed to showing, J found herself surprisingly flustered by Dawn being so close to her. "Wh-what?" she stuttered as the girl stared at her. "I asked what you were doing up there!"

"Team Rocket stole all of our Pokemon! I was trying to get them back," Dawn anxiously explained.

"Pokemon? That's all?" J looked at her as if she didn't understand. "You could have died if I weren't here, and you put yourself at that risk just for some Pokemon?"

Dawn could see that J didn't have the same attachment to Pokemon as herself, but given J's personality, that wasn't the least bit surprising. "They're not just Pokemon, they're my friends!" Dawn corrected her. "They're irreplaceable to me, and to Ash and Brock, too! I'd do anything to save them!"

J stayed quiet as she watched the emotional girl in her arms wipe a tear from her eye.

"I don't know what I'd do if I never got to see them again," Dawn sobbed, her heart breaking just from the idea of losing her Pokemon. "I'm sorry you had to save me, but please, just put me down somewhere so I can go after them! Please!"

"You care for them that much?" J asked her.

"Of course!" Dawn emphatically answered.

J knew she had a job to get back to. For the sake of completing it in a timely manner, setting Dawn down on the ground somewhere and leaving would be beneficial to both of them. "Fine," she conceded.

Feeling jittery about their current height as J set her down on Salamence's back, Dawn quickly wrapped her arms around the base of the Pokemon's neck for stability. The last thing she wanted was to fall off and start plummeting toward the ground again.

"Hold on and try not to fall," J instructed Dawn before turning her attention to her Pokemon. "Salamence...head for that Meowth balloon!"

"Wait...what?" Dawn shrieked, not sure she was hearing J correctly. "But I thought-!"

"Quiet!" J silenced her in a hurry. "We're doing things my way now!"

Meanwhile, over in the balloon's basket, Team Rocket was swelling up with pride over how well everything had worked out for them. The "twerpette" may have been rescued, but they'd still gotten away with Pikachu and the rest of the Pokemon.

"Just us and the Pokemon. Isn't this great, James?" Jessie beamed with joy.

"Indeed! I can't remember one of our plans ever going so smoothly," James agreed. "It's true, good things do happen eventually if you work hard enough."

Meowth, currently looking out the other side of the basket, wasn't nearly as upbeat as its human brethren. "Uh, guys?" it tried to get their attention. "I hate to break the bad news, but we got incomin'!"

As Jessie and James spun around, they quickly noticed what Meowth was talking about. Coming toward them at a high rate of speed was a Salamence, and the sight of the individual standing upon its back sent chills down their spines.

"That can't be...!" James staggered backward.

"Pokemon Hunter J?" Jessie gawked in fear at the approaching woman. "Not good! This is not good! Meowth, do something!"

Meowth looked back at Jessie as if she were crazy. "Are you nuts? This thing ain't equipped to fight J!"

The Team Rocket trio cowered against the side of the basket as J and her Salamence came closer and closer. Then, once within striking distance of the balloon, Salamence pulled up and hovered nearby as it awaited orders from its master. J was quiet for the moment, but the cold leer she directed at the ones who had taken Dawn's Pokemon said plenty.

"N-now you listen here!" Jessie brashly addressed the Pokemon hunter. Her nervousness was evident in her voice as she and James clutched the case full of pokeballs. "We stole these first, you thief! They're ours!"

"That's right! These are now property of Team Rocket!" James backed up his partner. "Go steal your own Pokemon!"

Dawn, who was seated in front of where J stood, wasn't going to just keep her mouth shut and wait to see what happened here. She didn't know what was going through J's mind right now, but she wanted some assurance that the Pokemon belonging to she and her friends would be safe. "What are you going to do, J?" she asked.

At that point, Meowth would be the one to finally take notice of Dawn's presence. "Hey! What's the twerpette doin' with J?"

"What? You're right, it _is_ the twerpette!" Jessie confirmed for herself. Putting two and two together, she realized now that J was the one who had saved Dawn from falling before. "What is this, some kind of alliance? That isn't fair!"

"Yeah! How dare you two team up against us?" James shook his fist at them.

The level of concern amongst the three Team Rocket members rose as they saw J reach into her pocket and pull out a pokeball. "Ariados! Come out!" J called upon another of her Pokemon.

Dawn jumped a bit as J's Ariados exited its pokeball and landed directly in front of her atop Salamence's head. "_What's she planning?_" she wondered of the woman.

Everyone would soon find out what J had in mind. Stretching her arm outward, she pointed directly at the three within the basket. "Ariados, use String Shot to take that case from them!" she commanded.

Acting as instructed, Ariados spat a string of white webbing from its mouth and out toward the balloon. With impressive accuracy, the webbing struck Team Rocket's case dead on, spreading out and sticking tightly to it upon impact. Then, yanking the webbing back with its head, Ariados pulled the case right out of Team Rocket's grasp and up into the air.

"Hey!" James reached out to grab the case again, but missed by plenty.

"No! Our loot!" Jessie whimpered.

With Pikachu, Piplup and the stash of pokeballs now flying through the air toward her, J reached up and caught the transparent case while skillfully managing to maintain her balance atop Salamence's back.

"Piplup!" Dawn immediately swiped the case out of J's hands. She was nearly weeping with relief as she got to lay eyes on her Pokemon again.

"Piplup piplup!" the small creature put its flippers against the side of the case, likewise happy to see its trainer again.

"I'm so glad you guys are okay!" Dawn smiled down at Piplup and Pikachu.

Team Rocket, on the other hand, was not okay. Not at all. Having lost the Pokemon they'd stolen, they were now facing down J again, and J wasn't looking to make friends.

"Uhh...well, you got what you wanted, so I guess we'll just leave now and you can do the same!" Jessie said with a nervous laugh.

"Y-yes! No need to do anything to us! We'll just be going quietly!" a hopeful James chimed in.

"You'll never hear from us again! We promise, lady!" Meowth swore to her.

The underhanded group huddled together closely as J stared over at them, the woman seemingly trying to decide what course of action she should take. All hope of a peaceful resolution would vanish for Team Rocket, however, when an evil smirk crossed J's face. "Salamence, Dragon Pulse!" she shouted.

With a loud growl, the winged Pokemon opened its mouth, within which a turquoise ball of energy began to form. Team Rocket's worries grew along with the energy, which expanded its mass to the size of Salamence's head. Then, with its attack fully charged, Salamence launched the energy ball straight at the balloon's basket.

Dawn had to shield her eyes from the light as Team Rocket's balloon exploded in brilliant fashion, sending all three occupants flying off into the distance.

"Oh, poo! I thought we'd finally won this time!" Jessie folded her arms across her chest.

"It was going so well, too! Why did that J have to show up?" James fumed.

Shaking its head, Meowth just threw its hands up in resignation. "It's always somethin'. We just can't win."

"And now we're blasting off again!" the three of them cried out together. And just like that, they disappeared into the distant sky.

Team Rocket was gone and the Pokemon they'd stolen were back in good hands. As for Dawn, though, she had extremely mixed feelings about her current situation. Inside the case full of Pokemon, Pikachu and Piplup were shooting J some unfriendly stares, and rightfully so. Dawn held the case close to her as she, too, gave the woman an inquiring look. "Why did you help me?" she asked.

J returned Ariados to its pokeball and put it away, but she offered no answer to Dawn's question. Frankly, she had no answer to give. Why _did_ she help Dawn? By doing so, she'd wasted time that could have gone toward today's job. Just leaving Dawn somewhere and letting Team Rocket run off with the girl's Pokemon wouldn't have hurt her personally in any way, so why? _Why_?

"Daaaaawwwn!"

Hearing her name being called by someone all of a sudden, Dawn scoured the area below for the source. And there, right at the edge of the cliff she'd jumped from earlier, she spotted two figures waving their arms in the air to get her attention.

"It's Ash and Brock! Looks like they got out of that pit somehow," Dawn smiled at the sight of them. Unfortunately, there wasn't yet any reason to celebrate. Dawn was still aboard Salamence, meaning whether or not she would get back to her friends safely was entirely up to J.

Over by the cliff, Ash and Brock were well aware of just who was with Dawn at the moment, but both were absolutely clueless as to how things had ended up that way.

"This is bad. I don't know where J came from, but it looks like she was after Dawn," Brock said.

"Let her go, J!" Ash shouted at the top of his lungs. "Man, and Team Rocket's still got our Pokemon! What do we do?"

Only now did Dawn see that her friends believed she was being held captive at the moment. It didn't feel to her as if that were the case, but then again, she really had no idea what J's intentions were. "Umm..." Dawn began to speak, looking back over her shoulder at the woman, "...can y-"

"Salamence," J cut the girl off, looking to her Pokemon, "...head over to those other brats. We'll drop her off there."

Dawn's face lit up with surprise as the Pokemon she was riding took off toward the cliff where Ash and Brock were waiting. "_What's going on here? First she helps get Piplup and the others back, and now she's taking us back to the guys?_" she silently pondered J's unusual behavior. "_This isn't like her at all. Just what is she up to?_"

Ash and Brock were equally puzzled at the sight of J and Salamence coming their way.

"Hey, they're comin' over here," Ash blinked.

"Yeah, and look!" Brock pointed to the object in Dawn's lap. "Isn't that a case full of pokeballs that Dawn's carrying?"

Ash squinted his eyes to get a better look. "Hey, you're right!" he exclaimed.

With its ability to soar through the air at high speeds, Salamence reached the cliff in no time. Ash and Brock had to cover their eyes as the large creature flew right over them at a low altitude, kicking up dirt and dust from the ground around them. Salamence would bring its forward progress to a halt roughly ten feet away from the boys before descending to the grass and landing safely.

"Dawn, get away from her! Hurry!" Ash shouted as he rushed over to his friend.

"N-no, wait! It's okay!" Dawn put her free hand up to stop him.

Ash, who was ready to get physical with J if need be, skidded to a stop next to Salamence. "Huh? What do you mean?" he batted his eyes.

"Here," Dawn said, handing Ash the case with the Pokemon in it.

"Pikachu!" Ash brightened up in a hurry once he saw his best friend. "Hey, buddy! You okay?"

"Pika pi!" Pikachu greeted him. Next to it, Piplup was getting pushed up against the side of the case and wasn't too thrilled about it, but it was at least glad to be on the ground again.

Brock stepped up beside Ash, taking a long look at both his female traveling mate and J. "Dawn, what happened?" he asked.

Still seated atop Salamence, Dawn glanced back over her shoulder again at the one who'd saved her. "It was J," she replied. "She...helped me get the Pokemon back from Team Rocket."

"She...she what?" Ash nearly fell over, not believing what he was hearing.

Brock could hardly believe it himself, but he didn't know why Dawn would lie about such a thing. "I see," he said, accepting Dawn's account of what had gone down for now. "Well, I guess we owe you our thanks for once, J."

"I don't need your thanks!" J snapped back at him, startling the former gym leader.

Dawn froze up as J abruptly turned her attention back to her. The sharp stare now coming at her through the woman's headset was unnerving. "_What's with that look?_" Dawn wondered, feeling her heart rate start to rise again. "_I don't understand, J. Why would you do all this?_"

Brock, too, noticed the strange look J was giving his friend. The Pokemon hunter may have helped them out for a change, but there was no telling what she might do next. Just to play it safe, Brock figured it was probably best to get Dawn away from J as quickly as possible. "Dawn, we should probably get going," he insisted.

"Uh...yeah," Dawn uttered in reply, forcing herself to look away from J. She lifted her right leg over Salamence's back so that she could hop down, but then, suddenly, she felt something grab onto her right arm. That something was J's strong, gloved hand, and it was preventing Dawn from dismounting the winged Pokemon. "J? Wh-what is it?"

Something brewing in her mind, J glanced over at Ash and Brock, then quickly looked back to her Pokemon. "Salamence, let's go!" she commanded.

"Wha-...hey!" Dawn shrieked. Following its master's orders, Salamence flapped its wings and rose up into the air again with both J and Dawn atop its back.

"No, Dawn!" Brock shouted.

"Dawn! Come back here, J!" Ash snarled at the Pokemon hunter.

J had no intention of coming back just yet, though. Ignoring the voices of the boys below, she and Salamence whisked back up into the sky along with their unwilling passenger.

"Darn it, I knew we couldn't trust her!" Ash fumed, now frantically trying to open up the case full of Pokemon to retrieve his Staraptor's pokeball. "Urgh! How do you open this thing?"

Ironically, Brock found himself in a position similar to what Dawn had been in earlier. Ash's Staraptor would certainly be able to follow J and Salamence, but they'd lose them if they weren't able to get the case open in time.

"Ash, you keep trying to get that case open! I'll follow them from the ground so we don't lose them!" Brock instructed his friend.

Ash understood completely. "Right! Don't let them get away, Brock!" he told him.

With Ash doing all he could to pry the case open, Brock took off running to try to keep pace with Salamence from below.

Elsewhere, now high up in the sky, Dawn was holding onto Salamence for dear life as the wind whipped through her hair. She was so relieved when she'd finally reached ground again after her ordeal with Team Rocket, and yet now she found herself airborne once more thanks to the actions of J. Upset, to say the least, she spun her head around and shot the silver-haired woman a sour look. "Why wouldn't you let me off? What are you going to do with me?" Dawn questioned her.

"Relax," J calmly replied. "I'll take you back down in a minute. I just wanted to talk to you."

"What? Why didn't you just ask me, then? Now Ash and Brock think you're kidnapping me!" Dawn chided her.

J looked upon Dawn with a stoic expression, not caring at all about how the girl's friends felt. "Would you have agreed to come with me if I'd asked?" she inquired.

Dawn didn't have to answer that. She and J both knew that "no" would be the likely response.

"Never mind that," J said, facing forward to take in the sight of the sky ahead of them. "Look around us."

Dawn wasn't sure what exactly J wanted her to see, but regardless, she did as she was asked and surveyed the scenery. She hadn't noticed it earlier since she was preoccupied with hanging onto Team Rocket's balloon and getting her Pokemon back from them, but from this elevation, the vast sky was quite a sight to witness. A few stray clouds were moving about in an otherwise endless sea of blue. Maybe the only thing more impressive was just how much of the land was visible from this position. Trees looked like small dots from this far above, and all of the different patterns on the ground simply couldn't be seen without flying this high above them.

"What do you feel when you're up here?" J asked the girl.

"What do I...feel?" Dawn repeated the question, taking another quick look around as she tried to come up with an answer. "Well...it's beautiful, but...it makes me feel nervous being up so high, I guess."

"Nervous? Mmm, I suppose that's only natural."

"What do _you_ feel then?"

Posed with that question, J slowly closed her eyes, taking in the feeling of the wind brushing against her for a moment. "I feel free."

"Free?" Dawn blinked.

"No restrictions, no limitations. I can go anywhere and do anything I please," J explained her answer. "That's just how I've always wanted to live my life. I hate rules and laws, so I choose not to obey them. Without things like that, there's nothing that can hold me back from living the way I desire."

Dawn could see where J was coming from, but that desire for freedom still didn't excuse the woman's choice of profession in her mind. "Living freely is fine, but you shouldn't do it at the expense of innocent Pokemon," Dawn gave her an accusing look.

"We've been through this before," J sighed under her breath. "My profession is my way of survival, and nothing is going to change that. I am what I am."

J's reluctance to change her ways came as no surprise to Dawn, but it did still sadden her. Normally, if someone had saved her life and helped get her Pokemon back from thieves, Dawn would have been extremely grateful and gotten along well with that person. When that someone was Sinnoh's most renowned Pokemon hunter, however, it was just too much to try to look past, plain and simple.

"Salamence, head down to the ground. We're dropping her off," J instructed her Pokemon.

The two passengers were quiet as Salamence gradually descended and then landed on the rocky terrain once more.

*_zip!_*

Thinking she'd heard the sound of one of her backpack's zippers, Dawn quickly spun around. "Hey! Did you take something?" she eyed J closely.

"What would I possibly want with your belongings?" J asked her. She felt like shaking her head at the girl's ridiculousness, but refrained. "One of the compartments was unzipped, so I closed it. It would be a nuisance to you if you lost something, wouldn't it?"

"Oh...yeah," Dawn replied, not giving it too much thought. She hopped down from Salamence's back, and this time no one stopped her. She was on land again, at last.

"Do you hate me?" J asked the girl all of a sudden.

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Dawn shied away from the woman's gaze. "I...I don't hate you," she answered her. "I just wish you didn't hunt Pokemon."

J seemed to be satisfied with that as she silently watched Dawn start to walk away.

But, after a few steps, Dawn stopped and slowly turned around. "Thank you. For saving me," she said, again avoiding direct eye contact with J. "And...that little girl you saved was right. You do look kind of cool."

Dawn had said what she wanted to say. Eager to get back to her friends, she left J behind and ran off to look for Ash and Brock without another word.

Salamence was waiting for its master's next order, but J was in no hurry to go at the moment.

"Dawn," J held out her right hand, her palm facing the girl's vanishing image. "She has no monetary value. She's nothing but a hindrance to my work. I gain nothing from being around her. And yet," she slowly closed her hand in front of her, "...why is it that I don't want her to leave?"

*_beep beep! beep beep!_*

A beeping noise emanating from J's headset indicated that there was a transmission coming in from her crew. With Dawn now having left, J pressed a button on the left side of the device to establish contact. "What is it?"

"Sir, are you okay?" one of her subordinates asked.

"I'm fine," J told him. "The problem has been taken care of. I'm returning now, so be ready to move out."

Their work calling for them, J and Salamence finally took to the sky and departed to hunt down the Electivire they'd come to capture.

After J had left, Brock, who had gone unnoticed the entire time, stepped out from behind a boulder not far from where Dawn was dropped off just now. Having both seen and heard everything that had transpired, he folded his arms, quietly pondering to himself just what might be going on between his friend and the ruthless Pokemon hunter.

"Hmm..."

* * *

**End of Chapter 4**


	5. A New Recruit

_**Capture the Heart**_**  
by rkOujirou**

Author's note: This story is a continuation based on the Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl anime, starting from after the episode "The Battle Finale of Legend!".

Disclaimer: Pokemon is not my idea and I don't own it or any of the characters, obviously.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Still roughly a day away from reaching the lakeside resort at Lake Valor, Ash, Dawn, Brock and all of their Pokemon were taking a lunch break in a field along their present route. After a long morning of walking, the rest and chance to recharge their energy was more than welcome.

"Ash, you'd better slow down a little. You keep eating like that and you'll start to choke," Brock warned his feasting friend.

Not heeding the advice, the eager trainer stuffed the last bit of a sandwich into his mouth and added some water to wash it down. "Puah! Hey, no worries, Brock. I'm used to it," Ash grinned. "Besides, I can't spend too long eating if I want to get some training in before we take off again."

The group's plan was to reach a Pokemon Center not far from Lake Valor by the time evening rolled around, and to stay there for the night. If they could get that far today, all that would await them tomorrow would be a short trip through a forest before reaching the site of the Sinnoh Grand Festival, the culmination of Dawn's journey through the region as a Pokemon coordinator.

The young girl from Twinleaf Town should have been ecstatic that her chance to compete in the Grand Festival was just around the corner, but she certainly didn't look it at the moment. Quietly staring at her lunch with her chin resting on her left palm, Dawn seemed lost in thought, just as she had on several occasions over the past 24 hours. She'd been constantly trying to make sense of what had happened with J yesterday, but to no avail. She didn't understand why J had saved her from falling. She didn't understand why J had helped her retrieve the Pokemon that were stolen. And, perhaps most of all, she didn't understand why a small part of her wanted to see J again to learn the reasons for those actions.

"Hey, what's wrong, Dawn? Feelin' nervous about the Grand Festival?" Ash asked, noticing how quiet she was.

"Huh? Oh, y-yeah. I guess maybe I am a little," Dawn played along.

"Just don't think about it too much. You're gonna do great!" Ash gave her an assuring look. "You just gotta trust in your Pokemon and all the practice you've put in!"

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Ash," Dawn flashed him a smile. Though it was true that she was a bit nervous about her upcoming contest, she knew that wasn't the reason she'd been spacing out. And she wasn't the only one, either.

While Ash kept on eating, Brock glanced over at their female traveling companion. Unbeknownst to Dawn, the aspiring Pokemon breeder had seen something yesterday that he wasn't meant to see. Thanks to that, he had a good idea of what was really bothering Dawn right now.

Brock was of the impression that something was going on between Dawn and J, but he was clueless as to what it could be. There was one thing he was sure of, though, that being that Sinnoh's most infamous Pokemon hunter was the last person he wanted to see near any of his friends. He wanted to ask Dawn about it, but the fact that she didn't mention much of what had happened with J yesterday after the trio had reunited led him to believe that it wasn't something she was comfortable talking about with either Ash or himself. For now, Dawn didn't seem frightened as would be the case if she knew J was a danger to her, and it was for that reason that Brock was leaning toward staying out of things until Dawn felt like opening up about it.

*_hack!* *cough!_*

The others abruptly turned their attention to Ash, who, judging from the panicked look on his face, appeared to be choking.

"Ash, what did Brock just tell you?" Dawn scolded him, giving the boy a few good whacks on his back.

The aid seemed to work as Ash finally got the food down and began to catch his breath. "Whoa! Man, guess I shoulda listened," he got a laugh at his own expense. "Thanks, Dawn."

"I tried to warn you," Brock reminded him. "Take it slow next time."

"Yeah, I'll do that," Ash replied, then looking toward Pikachu. "Hey, looks like you're finished eating, too. Let's go get some training in, Pikachu. How 'bout it?"

Pikachu shared its trainer's enthusiasm, striking a pose that showed its eagerness to get some work in. "Pika!"

"Great! Just call us when you're ready to go, guys," Ash instructed his friends as he ran off.

"Like trainer, like Pokemon," Brock chuckled at the pair.

As they had a way of doing, the energetic trainer and Pokemon team had an inspiring effect on the previously distracted Dawn. "_I can't be sitting here worrying about what happened with J yesterday when those two are working so hard,_" she thought to herself. "_The Grand Festival is almost here, and I need to make sure that my Pokemon and I are the best we can be, too!_"

Looking to remind herself of her goals, Dawn grabbed her backpack to take a quick peek at the five contest ribbons she'd won so far. Her ribbon case was kept in one of the smaller compartments of the pack, completely separate from the rest of her belongings. Once she'd unzipped that compartment, however, Dawn found a surprise waiting inside. There was something else sharing space with her ribbons.

*_gasp!_*

Noticing his friend's odd reaction, Brock gave her a curious look. "Is something wrong?"

Dawn appeared unusually tense as she glanced up at him. "N-no! Nothing! Umm...I'll be right back!"

Scrambling to get far enough away that nobody could see around her, Dawn put some distance between herself and the table where Brock was eating, then dropped to her knees along with her backpack. "_It can't be! Is this...?_"

Reaching into the pack, Dawn pulled out a flexible headset that she immediately recognized. "_It is! It's the same one that J wears!_" she realized. "_But...why do I have this? When did she-?_"

It was then that Dawn remembered one small detail about her encounter with the Pokemon hunter yesterday. As they were aboard Salamence and about to land, she'd heard a zipping noise behind her. When asked about it, J insisted she'd only zipped up a compartment that was open so that none of Dawn's possessions would fall out. From the looks of things, however, she'd also added something of her own.

"_She was still wearing hers when I left, though. Was this an extra that she had with her?_" Dawn wondered. "_I don't get it. Why would she give me this?_"

"Hey, Dawn! Is everything okay?" Brock called out to her.

Dawn jumped as she heard her friend's voice. "_Oh, no! I can't let Ash or Brock see this thing. Who knows what they'd think!_"

Quickly stuffing the headset into her backpack, Dawn zipped everything back up and headed over to the table. "Y-yeah, silly me! I thought I'd lost my ribbon case there for a second, but I just had it in the wrong place was all. No need to worry!" she laughed.

"Oh, that's good. It would be pretty bad if you lost those," Brock said. Knowing Dawn, he didn't doubt that misplacing her ribbons could have been what had startled her, but he still couldn't help questioning if that was really the case.

"I know! Thank goodness," Dawn smiled. Inwardly, she was breathing a sigh of relief that Brock had bought her story. Still, having that headset in her possession brought with it the constant risk that her friends could find out about it. Regardless of J's reasons for leaving it with her, Dawn knew that it would probably be best to get rid of the item when she found the right opportunity.

Once everyone had finished eating and the dishes were cleaned, Dawn and Brock packed up their gear and put their Pokemon away. They were ready to get back on the road.

"Hmm, that's weird," Dawn looked around, holding an empty pokeball in her hand. "Where's Pachirisu?"

"Piplup pii piplup pip!"

Looking to be in quite the hurry, Piplup ran over to its trainer and grabbed onto her leg.

"Huh? What is it, Piplup?" Dawn asked.

The small Pokemon jumped up and down as it pointed its flipper toward the edge of some nearby woods. "Piplup piplup pii piplup!"

"You guys!"

Before Dawn could find out what Piplup was trying to tell her, Ash came rushing back with Pikachu close behind him.

"Hey, Ash. Why the hurry?" Brock asked his friend.

Ash began scouring the area for a certain Pokemon. "Is Dawn's Pachirisu here?"

"N-no. I was just about to put it back in its pokeball, but I don't see it anywhere," Dawn informed him, starting to sound worried.

"Then it _was_ your Pachirisu!" Ash exclaimed. "Me and Pikachu saw it running off into the woods just now."

"What?" Dawn shrieked. "Ohh, jeez, Pachirisu can be too energetic for its own good sometimes. I'd better go find it."

"We'll help, too," Ash offered his assistance.

"Yeah, it would be faster if we all look," Brock said in agreement. They couldn't afford to take too long if they wanted to make it to that Pokemon Center tonight.

After Ash put the rest of his Pokemon away, the trio walked over to the edge of the woods and prepared to head in.

"Pachirisu shouldn't have gotten far, but it could be in any direction by now. I think we should split up to look for it," Brock suggested to the others. "Once you find it, have one of your Pokemon send up a signal and we'll all meet where you're at."

"Right!" Dawn nodded.

"Sounds good. Let's go!" Ash took off running with Pikachu.

With the three of them heading off in different directions, it wasn't long before Dawn and Piplup were all by themselves.

"Pachirisuuu~! Pachirisuuuu!" Dawn shouted at the top of her voice.

Though not nearly as loud as its trainer, Piplup pitched in on the search as well. "Pipluuup! Pipluuup!"

"Ohh, where could it be?" Dawn fretted.

These woods were far from easy to find a particular Pokemon in. Not only were the trees a hindrance, but there were numerous bushes and patches of tall grass around to complicate things even further. Trying to find Pachirisu with only their eyes would undoubtedly be a daunting task.

"It's so hard to see in here," Dawn said. She stopped for a moment, directing her eyes to one of the backpack's straps over her shoulder. "I wonder..."

There were certain things that Dawn never thought she would do, but for the sake of finding her lost Pokemon, she was considering one of them. Looking very unsure of herself, she slid off her backpack and stared at the compartment she'd opened earlier. "If J uses them, they must help her find Pokemon, right?" she nervously thought aloud. "It doesn't feel right, but...for Pachirisu..."

With mixed feelings, Dawn unzipped the small compartment and pulled out the headset she'd found earlier. Piplup, who'd been wondering why its trainer had stopped, looked absolutely horrified as it caught a glimpse of the item.

"Pipipipiplup piplup piplup!"

"It's okay, Piplup! I'm going to get rid of it! I didn't even know it was in here until just a little while ago," Dawn tried to calm her disturbed Pokemon. "But if this can help me find Pachirisu, then I have to try. Okay?"

Piplup had a look of pure dread on its face as it watched Dawn slide the headset on. To see her wearing something that Pokemon Hunter J had worn was like a nightmare coming to life.

With the headset now securely fit over her eyes, Dawn felt around the outside of the device to try to figure out how to activate it. "There's a button here...no, that didn't do anything. Maybe this one? Mmm...no. Is this thing broken?"

It was only when Dawn touched the transparent part of the headset that the device finally seemed to switch on, displaying a bar in the upper part of her vision and an arrow on the right side. "Whoa! That scared me!" she jumped, placing a hand over her heart. "Oh, wow."

As she held her arm out in front of her, Dawn noticed that everything was now apparently being displayed by how much heat it put out. Her arm was shown in colors of yellow, orange and red, while the trees and bushes were varying shades of green and blue. "So this is how J sees everything," she said to herself. "I wonder what this bar and the arrow mean."

The bar she was seeing had a numerical value above it that was fluctuating quite a bit, making it difficult to understand its purpose. The arrow, on the other hand, seemed easier to figure out. Since it was currently pointing downward, Dawn looked toward the ground, which is where Piplup happened to be standing. Once Piplup was in her vision, the arrow turned into a bullseye, seemingly letting the headset's user know that it had locked onto a target. Dawn also noticed that the numerical value above the bar now displayed the number 100 and was no longer fluctuating.

"I get it now. These help show where exactly a Pokemon is at," Dawn realized. "You know, if it weren't used for such awful things, this would be pretty neat. Anyway, let's hurry and find Pachirisu."

Dawn proceeded deeper into the woods, and Piplup, though still unhappy about its trainer's appearance, followed along. As she walked, Dawn was directed to numerous Pokemon by the arrow on her headset. Up in a tree to her left, she saw three bright colors in the shape of some Starly. At the base of another tree straight in front of her, she spotted a Bidoof roaming around. In a bush a short distance to her right, she could make out a pair of Shinx resting. But these other Pokemon, while interesting, weren't what she was looking for.

"Pachirisuuu~! Hey, Pachirisu! Where are you?" she called out to her Pokemon again. "Pachirisu...I'm really starting to get worri-oww!"

Dawn staggered backward after feeling something hit the top of her head. Piplup was initially concerned over what had happened, but its worries quickly disappeared as the object, an Oran Berry, fell to the ground in front of it.

"Pii piplup!" Piplup happily picked up the berry and started munching on it.

"An Oran Berry?" Dawn blinked, looking up to see where it came from. As it turned out, she was standing directly underneath a tree that was bountiful in the blue berries. And that wasn't all that was up there.

Dawn narrowed her eyes as she saw a heat source behind the cover of the leaves. There was a Pokemon up in the tree, a smaller one with what appeared to be a large, fluffy tail. "Pachirisu! Is that you?"

Recognizing the voice, the Pokemon hopped down from branch to branch until it was able to poke its head out from behind the leaves. "Chipa?"

"It _is_ you!" Dawn beamed happily, relieved to see her Pokemon again. "Pachirisu, why did you run off?"

"Chi?" Pachirisu tilted its head, giving her a funny look.

"Oh, right!" Dawn laughed as she removed the headset she'd been wearing. "It's me, see?"

Its confusion cleared, Pachirisu jumped down onto Dawn's shoulder and nuzzled its head against her cheek. "Chipa chipa!"

"Hey now! I'm mad at you, you know," Dawn giggled. "What were you doing way out here? You had us worried sick!"

Looking to show its trainer something, Pachirisu leaped back up onto the lowest tree branch, and soon emerged holding an Oran Berry between its paws. "Chipa chi!"

"Huh?" Dawn faltered. "You mean you ran off just to get some berries?"

"Chipa!" Pachirisu nodded its furry head as it started to gnaw on the fresh snack.

Falling back against the tree, Dawn let out a loud sigh. "Great, how am I going to tell the guys it was just something like that? Oh well, I guess we'd better send them a signal. But first..."

Dawn took a long look at the headset in her hand. "I should get rid of it now while Ash and Brock aren't around," she decided. "I still wish I knew why J gave it to me, though."

Confident that it was for the best, Dawn walked over to one of the thicker bushes in the area and stuffed the headset deep inside where no one could see it. "There."

While Pachirisu was ignoring a stern lecture from Piplup in favor of munching on its Oran Berry, Dawn took a few steps toward her Pokemon, then glanced back over her shoulder at the bush she'd just hidden the sophisticated piece of equipment in. There shouldn't have been any question in her mind about ditching the device. So why, she wondered, did she feel so torn about it?

* * *

"Fourteen...fifteen...sixteen..."

With the day rolling into the evening hours, Pokemon Hunter J was by herself in the workout area of her base. Dressed lightly for the physical activity, her gloved hands gripped a steel bar over her head as she finished a set of pull-ups.

"...seventeen...eighteen...nineteen...twenty!"

The silver-haired woman was breathing hard as she let go of the bar and dropped down to the floor. Her usual routine now complete, she walked over to a bench and took a seat, wiping away the sweat that had accumulated on her face with a towel. The job of hunting Pokemon required a certain level of physical fitness that she never failed to maintain, and she had always mandated that her subordinates do the same. Though she usually had it to herself as of late, this room filled with workout equipment was often busy at most all hours of the day when her team was at full force before the incident at Lake Valor. Things would change when most of her men perished beneath the surface of the lake, but today marked the beginning of J's effort to remedy that situation.

"They should be ready by now," J reminded herself.

Elsewhere, inside the control center of the bunker, four of J's five crew members were huddled around one of the larger monitors. They'd received another progress report on their new ship from the personnel of Dr. Whittaker, and this one contained a picture of the ship's frame which was already under construction.

"It really does look bigger than our old ship!" one of the men said excitedly. "I hope it still fits in our hangar."

"Hey, don't worry. Commander J definitely accounted for that in her request," another crew member assured him. "But seeing this sure gets me fired up. I can't wait to see it when it's finished."

Hearing the sound of a door opening behind them, the four men turned their heads to see the fifth member of their crew entering the room, and he wasn't alone. Trailing behind him were three individuals that none of the other crewmen had seen before. One was a short, husky man with a buzz cut. Another was a taller man with his head completely shaved. And the third of them, the one that really caught the eyes of the crew, was a girl with a dark gray headband and longer, light blue hair tied behind her head in such a way that it stood straight up into the air.

"Who are these guys?" one of the men asked.

"They're our new recruits," their fellow crewman replied.

"New recruits? So we're finally expanding again?" another one asked.

The one who had led the recruits in nodded his head. "We need to have more members with experience by the time the ship is finished, so we're starting to train some now. I'm sure Commander J will-"

At that moment, Pokemon Hunter J herself entered from another door, stopping her subordinate in mid-sentence and immediately drawing the attention of both the regular crewmen and the new recruits. She had put on her usual uniform once again after her workout since she always wanted to appear professional in front of her crew.

"J, sir! These are the recruits you asked me to prepare," the crew member informed her.

The recruits stood up straight and in an organized line as J walked over to them. One by one, she took a long, up-close look at each of their faces. There was no clear reason why, but she took an especially long look at the one female among the recruits, perhaps trying to see if there was any fear in her eyes. The stare down would end without incident, however, as J backed away from the trio to properly address the three of them.

"Listen up! We don't carry dead weight around here. If you can't keep up with our operation, you're gone," J warned them. "Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!" the recruits answered together.

"You'll earn the same pay as the others once you've proven that you can cut it here. Do _not_ disappoint me," J gave them a stern look. She then turned to her regular crew. "I'll leave their training to you. Get them acquainted with our operation, but make sure they pay their dues. Work them as hard as you like."

"Understood, sir!" the men responded.

"Good. Now then, I have some business to attend to," J said. The boss gave her new female recruit a cold stare once more, then headed for the door en route to her personal chamber.

While J left the room, the girl with light blue hair kept her eyes on the woman the entire time. "_So that's J. It's the first time I've seen her in person,_" she thought to herself. "_She's really intimidating._"

The girl let out a surprised yelp as she felt a hand grab her by the shoulder.

"Lucky you! We were just about to do some maintenance on our vehicles. Looks like you get to help us out," the crewman who grabbed her smirked. "Let's go. You've got some dues to pay."

Eager to prove her worth, the new recruit gave him a hand salute. "I'll do my best!"

* * *

"Whew! Finally!"

Loving the sight of the twin bunk beds before her, Dawn dropped her backpack on the floor and collapsed onto one of the bottom bunks. After a long day of walking, she and her friends had made it to their destination at last, a Pokemon Center not far from Lake Valor where they had one of the guest rooms all to themselves.

Ash and Brock followed suit, letting their backpacks slide down from their shoulders.

"Man, we really went a long ways today. I feel like I could sleep for days," Ash said, stretching out his arms.

"I don't think we've got that kind of time, but at the very least I think you can sleep in tomorrow if you'd like," Brock chuckled. "We're really only about an hour's walk from Lake Valor right now, so we shouldn't need to leave here until sometime in the afternoon."

"Wow, that sounds good. Right, Pikachu?" Ash turned to his buddy.

The electric-type Pokemon gave an approving look from its trainer's shoulder. "Pika!"

Over on her bed, Dawn pulled herself up off the mattress and sat on its edge. "It's really just one more day," she said with excitement.

"Yeah, but all you'll be doing is registering tomorrow, so just relax and get some sleep for tonight," Brock tried to ease her mind. "Anyway, I'm going to go call home so long as we're here. I'll be back in a bit."

Brock's plans reminded Ash of something he'd forgotten. "Oh, y'know, I haven't called Mom in a while. Guess I should probably do that, huh?" he laughed. "How 'bout you, Dawn?"

"Nah. I'll call Mom tomorrow once we're at the lakeside resort. Then I can tell her I finally made it to the Grand Festival," Dawn beamed proudly.

"Sounds like a plan," Brock nodded. "We'll be back soon, then."

"Okay," Dawn waved to her friends as they left the room. "Phew. That was some day, huh, Piplup?"

Looking down at her side, Dawn found Piplup laying on the bed with its eyes closed, already asleep. She couldn't help giggling at the sight. "Wow, you really wore yourself out. I'm with you. Time to get some sleep."

Dawn stood up and went to grab her pajamas out of her backpack, but she came to an abrupt halt once she got near it. There was something she was able to put out of her mind when she was with the guys earlier, but now that she was alone, it wasn't so easy. Sighing under her breath, she unzipped one of the compartments and reached inside, pulling out not her pajamas, but rather the headset that J had left her.

"I couldn't leave this thing after all," she looked over the piece of equipment, clearly puzzled over her hesitation to part with it. "I really don't know why. It has bad news written all over it."

Feeling a hint of curiosity coursing through her veins, Dawn listened by the door to make sure Ash and Brock weren't coming yet, then looked back at Piplup to check if it was still asleep. "I guess it couldn't hurt for just a minute," she playfully smiled.

For the second time today, Dawn fit the headset snugly over her face and touched the transparent part over her eyes, activating the infrared mode she'd used to find Pachirisu earlier. "Guess I've already got the hang of it. Now, let's see what's going on outside."

Dawn moved over to the one window in the room and stared out into the night. Though she wasn't completely certain what they were, there were a handful of red and yellow objects representing Pokemon that could be seen. "Ooh, look at that," she said, spotting something flapping its wings in one of the trees. "It doesn't look like a Starly. I wonder if it's a Noctowl, or maybe...oh!"

A group of four larger Pokemon made their appearance, but were quickly gone again as they ran past the Pokemon center in a flash. "Wow, they were sure in a hurry. It looked like a pack of Mightyena, or maybe Houndoom," Dawn smiled. "I still feel guilty for keeping this thing, but it really is kind of fun."

"_You certainly seem to be enjoying it._"

Dawn was startled as she heard a woman's voice all of a sudden. "W-wha? Who-?" she looked around the room to see who it was.

The voice wasn't coming from within the Pokemon Center, though. A small window appeared on the headset, displaying a live image of the one who had spoken to Dawn. It shouldn't have come as any surprise that it was the one who'd left the item with her in the first place, Pokemon Hunter J.

"J!" Dawn stumbled backward, tripping over her own feet and falling on her backside. "Ouch! B-but...how-"

"Communication is essential for my team. It's only natural that I'm able to connect with any of the headset units when need be," the Pokemon hunter explained to her. "I'll get right to the point. Half a mile north of that Pokemon Center you're at, there's a bronze statue of Palkia, the legendary Pokemon. I'll be there at 11 o' clock tomorrow morning. If you'd like, you can meet me there."

"Huh?" Dawn gasped, quickly covering her mouth out of concern for waking up Piplup. There were any number of things racing through her mind right now, not the least of which was how exactly J knew where she was at the moment, but first and foremost was a concern over what might happen to she and her friends if she turned the woman down. "And...what if I don't come?"

J closed her eyes as she delivered a simple response. "Nothing. Whether you come or not is up to you."

Before Dawn could ask her anything else, J abruptly ended the connection, her image disappearing from the headset the young girl wore.

Feeling a bit stunned, Dawn batted her eyes, wondering if she'd heard J correctly. "She wants me to...meet her? And she's not forcing me?"

Not sure what to make of the request, she removed J's headset and stared down at it for a moment. Letting Dawn choose whether or not to meet her was certainly a change from the normal antics of J, who only weeks ago had threatened to harm the girl's friends if she didn't speak with her. Given her shockingly noble acts of a day earlier and now this, Dawn felt that something seemed very different about the woman.

"Even after what she did yesterday, she's still a Pokemon hunter. There's no way I should go," Dawn told herself. "But..."

The only thing Dawn wanted on her mind right now was the Grand Festival, and whether she planned on accepting or rejecting J's invitation, this was going to be one more distraction she'd have to deal with for the remainder of the night.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the hangar at J's base, two of the regular crew members and the new female recruit were working on one of the armored vehicles used during missions. Or rather, the recruit was working on the vehicle while the other crewmen stood by and shouted instructions.

"Hey, rookie! We need to change the nets on this thing!" one of the men yelled to the girl, who was currently underneath the vehicle. "You know where the gear's stored, right? Go grab a couple new nets!"

Her uniform, hands and face smeared with grease and oil, the new recruit squeezed out from under the vehicle and got to her feet. "I'm on it!" she declared, hurrying off to one of the storage rooms.

"You weren't too specific there. She might grab the wrong nets," the other man told his associate.

"That's what I'm hoping," the first crew member smirked. "Then we can yell at her and send her running back for the right ones!"

The two men shared a laugh at the expense of their new recruit. Their boss had instructed them to work the girl hard, and they were going to enjoy every last minute of it.

Once she'd found the storage area, the new recruit looked around to see if anyone was close by and then headed inside, shutting the door behind her. In the room filled with boxes and shelving units, she leaned up against the wall and pressed a small button on her wristwatch as she held it up to her mouth.

"This is Pokemon Ranger Solana. Infiltration of Pokemon Hunter J's base is complete."

* * *

**End of Chapter 5**


	6. Day at the Garden

_**Capture the Heart**_**  
by rkOujirou**

Author's note: This story is a continuation based on the Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl anime, starting from after the episode "The Battle Finale of Legend!".

Disclaimer: Pokemon is not my idea and I don't own it or any of the characters, obviously.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

"You slackers! Why're you slowing down? Pick up the pace! Move it!"

The undercover Pokemon Ranger Solana and her two fellow recruits for Pokemon Hunter J's crew, each of them lugging around a large box that weighed no less than 100 lbs., had long ago started feeling the ill effects of their grueling initiation. Some of the items they were carrying really did need to be moved, but others were unnecessarily added on just for the sake of making their task more difficult.

"If you want to be a part of this crew, you'd better show me more energy than that!" one of the established crewmen berated them.

Her arms wrapped tightly around a box full of machine parts, Solana pressed on despite feeling like her legs were about to give out on her. The recruits had all worked late into the night on their first day. They could have used a full night of rest afterward, but J's crewmen awoke the trio after only allowing them one hour of sleep, and they then put them right back to work. The afternoon hours were now approaching and the three were sore and exhausted, but none of their wills were broken yet. The two men were driven by thoughts of the generous income. Their female comrade had other motivations keeping her going.

While the rookies trudged along down the corridor, another of J's regular crew members wandered into the area and spotted his associate dishing out orders. "Hey!" he grabbed the other man's attention. "Have you seen the Commander around? We can't seem to find her."

"That's because Commander J left earlier," the other man replied, giving the recruits a brief reprieve from his barking.

"Again? She's been going off on her own a lot lately, don't you think?"

"She wouldn't be leaving if there wasn't a reason for it. She also said to be ready for that Bronzong job by the time she gets back, so if I were you I'd be focused on that and not what Commander J does with her time."

"R-right..."

Even though they'd noticed that their boss was leaving the base by herself more often than usual, the crew had never been given any reason to believe that she wasn't being productive in some way. The majority of them didn't care what their Commander was doing so long as they were still getting paid, and that was precisely the type of attitude that made them a good fit for J's crew.

* * *

"Buizel, use Sonic Boom!"

"Happiny, dodge and use Pound!"

Outside the Pokemon Center his group had stayed at last night, Ash was taking advantage of some extra time he and the others had by using a practice battle to get some training in for his Buizel against Brock's Happiny. The Pokemon and their trainers were certainly putting forth effort, but the atmosphere remained relaxed as the battle was only for the sake of experience. There was one spot that relaxed atmosphere didn't extend to, however, that being the bench alongside the practice field where a lone girl and her Piplup sat.

Restless and anxious, Dawn's right leg bobbed up and down uncontrollably as she checked the digital clock on her Poketch for what felt like the hundredth time today. It was 10:57 in the morning.

The young Pokemon coordinator leaned back and looked up at the azure sky above, taking a deep breath to try to calm her nerves. Ever since Pokemon Hunter J had contacted her last night, the ensuing conversation was all Dawn could think about. It was on her mind when she fell asleep, and it was just as bothersome when she woke up for breakfast. J had asked to meet her at 11 o' clock this morning. That time was quickly approaching.

Dawn peeked down at her Poketch again. It read 10:58.

"_Oh, come on, Dawn. Pull it together,_" the girl silently told herself. "_She said it was up to me, and I'm not going to see a Pokemon poacher if I don't have to. She can wait there for the rest of her life for all I care!_"

Such was what Dawn had been trying to convince herself of ever since her eyes had fluttered open hours earlier. Why she would ever want to associate with someone like J was beyond her. It was one thing when J kept coming to find her as had been the case each of the last three times they'd met, but for Dawn to willingly go to her? The very idea was ridiculous.

Yet, despite all of that, there was one countering thought that continuously popped up in Dawn's mind: J had saved her life two days ago. Not only that, she had also rescued Piplup and the rest of Dawn's Pokemon from Team Rocket. Thus, Dawn couldn't help wondering, did that obligate her to agree to J's request?

Dawn let her eyes wander down to the device on her wrist once more. The time was now 10:59.

"Good! Now use Ice Punch, Buizel!"

"Get ready for it, Happiny!"

Dawn shook her head, the ongoing practice battle registering as nothing more than background noise. "_Just forget about it already!_" she pleaded with herself. "_It doesn't matter anymore. I'd just be late if I went to meet her now. She'll probably have left by the time I got there anyway. And besides, I'm going to the Grand Festival today! The Grand Festival! I need to focus!_"

The question was, would Dawn be able to focus if she ignored J's invitation? Would she be able to keep herself from thinking about why the normally cold, callous woman asked to meet her today in the first place? Or if J would come looking for her again, upset that she didn't show up? Or if hours later J was still out there waiting for her?

Slowly, Dawn raised her Poketch up to eye level. She could feel the rate of her heartbeat start to rise as she read the current time. Finally, it was 11 o' clock.

Both Buizel and Happiny were breathing heavily when their trainers decided they'd had enough.

Ash was all smiles as he walked up behind his Pokemon and placed a hand on its shoulder. "Hey, that was great, Buizel!"

"Bui bui!" the water-type Pokemon pounded its chest proudly.

"You too, Happiny. Great job," Brock said to the small, pink Pokemon. "You're not used to battling for that long, but you sure handled it well."

"Happiny!" the Pokemon jumped up and down, appreciative of the compliment.

Over on the bench, Piplup was ready to hop down to the ground now that the battle was over. It wouldn't get the chance, though, as its trainer wrapped her hands around it and picked it up while she got to her feet. "Pip?"

"Hey, you guys!" Dawn came rushing over to her friends.

"Yeah? What's up, Dawn?" Ash asked, surprised by her sudden outburst.

"Listen, I...umm...I need to go do something for a bit! By myself!" Dawn informed them.

"O-...kay," Brock gave her a curious stare. "Is it something we can help with?"

"No! No, I-I need to do it alone," Dawn flashed the boys a nervous smile. "So I'll be back a little later, okay?"

Brock turned to Ash to see if his friend had any thoughts on the matter, but the trainer simply shrugged his shoulders. "Well, if you need to be by yourself, I understand," Brock gave Dawn his blessing. "Just make sure you're back in time for us to head to Lake Valor while it's still light outside."

"Got it!" Dawn nodded, and with that she took off running to the north. "See you guys in a bit!"

While he watched his traveling companion take her abrupt leave, Brock remained mystified as to what Dawn had to go do in such a hurry. "That was sure strange," he said, turning to Ash again. "Did she mention anything about it to you?"

"Nah, but it's pretty obvious what she's up to," Ash grinned.

"It is?" Brock raised an eyebrow.

"Sure! Don't you get it, Brock?" Ash inquired, surprised that his old buddy didn't understand what was going on. "She's definitely going to practice a new move to use at the Grand Festival! And she wants us to be surprised when she uses it, so she went off to practice where we couldn't see her!"

Brock almost had to laugh at his friend's take on things. Actually, Ash's theory even seemed plausible. "You think so, huh?"

Confident in his analysis of the situation, Ash gave Brock a thumbs up. "No doubt about it!"

Meanwhile, after having a quick change of heart that she already believed she would regret later, Dawn was dashing at full speed through a patch of thick grass with Piplup clutched to her chest. What in the world had gotten into her, even she had no idea.

"_I could have just relaxed with the guys or gotten in some practice of my own, but no! I'm going to meet up with a Pokemon hunter!_" Dawn thought, frustrated with herself. "_I can't believe I'm doing this. Piplup is going to flip out if J's there!_"

Last night, J had said that she would be waiting by a statue of Palkia half a mile north of the Pokemon Center, which by Dawn's calculations should have been coming into view any minute. Up ahead, she could see a line of trees where the tall grass appeared to end. The statue, she figured, may well lie within them.

In the midst of the run, Piplup started to put up a fuss as Dawn had tightened her grip on it without noticing. "Piplup piplup pipluuuup!"

"Oops! Sorry, Piplup," Dawn quickly apologized. "We're almost there, I promise."

Once she finally emerged from the patch of grass, Dawn found a road waiting at the end just before the line of trees began. "Okay, now let's see..." she mumbled, scouring the trees for some idea of where to go. To her left there was nothing out of the ordinary, but to the right there was something that stood out very clearly. It was a cobblestone path several feet wide that appeared to lead deeper into the wooded area.

"That might just be the way to the statue," Dawn told herself.

Resuming her run, Dawn got on the stone pathway and began following it. There were some low hanging branches from the trees blocking the view up ahead, but Dawn was almost certain that she could see a statue of some sort through them. With a few more steps she was able to confirm that it was, indeed, a statue, and its details were starting to become clear. It was a bronze likeness of a massive Pokemon with wings, standing nearly three times as tall as she was. With plates on its shoulders, a long tail, and a crest atop its head, there was no mistaking that the Pokemon depicted by the statue was Palkia. There was a circular area of stone on the ground surrounding the statue that came into full view as Dawn found herself standing before it at the end of her journey.

"This has to be it," Dawn said while trying to catch her breath. She hadn't seen anyone around while approaching this spot, however, and now that she was here, she could plainly see that J was nowhere to be found. "She's...she's not here..."

Feeling like a great burden had been lifted from her shoulders, Dawn let out a huge sigh of relief. Whether she'd left already or hadn't shown up at all, J wasn't here, and there was nothing Dawn could do about that. Now she might be able to put this all behind her and focus on her upcoming contest, she figured. Admittedly, though, there was also a hint of disappointment in her heart. She really did want to know the reason why J had asked to meet her here today, but it appeared as though it was just going to end up as one of those mysteries she never got the answer to.

"_You really came,_" a voice suddenly spoke out.

Dawn immediately raised her head, her heart nearly jumping out of her chest. She knew that voice she'd just heard. Panning around the area for its source, Dawn's eyes widened as she watched a woman step out from behind the right leg of the Palkia statue. "J!"

Pokemon Hunter J wasn't dressed any differently than the other times Dawn had seen her in recent weeks, but today she was noticeably without a headset, allowing Dawn to see her light blue eyes for the first time since the night she'd found her injured near Lake Valor.

As J stepped closer, a terrified Piplup began flailing around until its trainer finally let go of it. The small Pokemon hid behind Dawn's leg in a panic, trembling in fear of the renowned hunter. "Pipipipipipiplup!"

"Piplup, it's okay! She won't hurt us...I don't think," Dawn tried to put her Pokemon at ease, although she herself wasn't even sure of just how safe they were.

J closed the distance until a space of only a couple of feet stood between she and the girl. "If I wanted to hurt you, I could have done it without going to this much trouble."

"Okay, then why did you ask me to come here?" Dawn questioned her.

"That...I'll tell you soon enough," J replied. Reaching into her coat, she pulled out a pokeball and tossed it into the air. "Salamence, come out!"

The appearance of J's large, dragon-type Pokemon made Dawn take a step back. Salamence let out a loud roar as it touched down on the ground, and its presence only caused more of a panic for Piplup, who was still far from convinced that they weren't in any danger.

Salamence hadn't been brought out for the sake of a fight, though. Instead, J hopped up onto the intimidating Pokemon's back and took a seated position. Then, once settled in, she held out her hand as an invitation to Dawn. "Come on. We'll continue this elsewhere."

"Else-...where?" Dawn blinked, understandably hesitant about the idea. "Where are we going?"

"I can't tell you just yet," J said to her. "You'll have to trust me."

To ask for Dawn's trust was practically asking for the impossible given J's profession of choice. Dawn was willing to consider it, though. Despite J's checkered past, Dawn was of the impression that the woman harbored no ill intentions at the moment. As J had said earlier, after all, if she were looking to cause any harm, she would have done so already. What exactly J's intentions were was unknown, but this was Dawn's chance to find that out, and she would have to decide whether or not it was worth the risk.

Dawn took all the time she needed to think things through. Then, after finally coming to a decision, she picked up her still apprehensive Piplup and narrowed her eyes at J. "Just so you understand, I'm only doing this to pay you back for saving me the other day," she let the woman know.

Piplup was mortified, its beak hanging open in shock that its trainer was actually going through with this.

True to her typically stoic character, J appeared unfazed by the girl's statement. "I'm not concerned with your reasons. Just take my hand."

Though she showed some nervousness, Dawn put one foot forward and began advancing toward Salamence. It may not have been in her best interest to go, but she felt as though J was being genuine with her and she wanted to know where the woman was going with this. No, she _needed_ to know.

Her eyes locked on those of the Pokemon hunter, Dawn reached out and felt J's gloved hand wrap around her own. With one strong tug, J pulled Dawn up onto Salamence's back and had the girl and her Piplup sit in front of her.

"Ready?" J asked.

"Y-yeah," Dawn replied, as ready as she'd ever be.

"Good. Salamence, let's go!"

Hearing the order from its trainer, Salamence lifted off and took to the sky, heading toward the destination only itself and J knew.

* * *

"Pii piplup piplup pip! Piplup piipiplup!"

"I know, Piplup. I know."

Dawn was getting an earful from her Pokemon as they soared through the air aboard Salamence. She wasn't exactly thrilled with herself at the moment either, but Piplup was easily the more upset of the two. Being a Pokemon itself, J's transgressions were much more personal to it than they were to its trainer. To see Dawn associating with the notoriously cruel hunter like this was absolutely baffling for Piplup.

Seated directly behind them, J had her hands placed around Dawn's waist to help keep the girl stable since her arms were too occupied with Piplup to hold onto Salamence. "How is it? Does being up here still make you nervous?" J asked her.

"Huh? O-oh, I hadn't even thought about it," Dawn admitted. There were so many other things running through her mind right now that she hadn't had the time to worry about being this far off the ground like she had two days earlier during the Team Rocket incident. "I guess it does a little, but it's not as bad this time."

Having J so close to her was a peculiar sensation for Dawn. The feeling of the woman's hands gripping her hips and keeping her balanced was actually very reassuring, and that may have been why she wasn't so concerned about falling. She felt oddly safe at the moment considering who she was with.

"Not surprising. The second ride is always easier," J said to her. "It takes a while to be completely comfortable up here, though. I couldn't begin to tell you how much I practiced riding Salamence after it first evolved."

Having seen how perfectly J could keep her balance while standing atop Salamence, it was tough for Dawn to picture her having difficulty with it. It actually piqued her interest regarding the history between the two. "Umm...have you had Salamence for a long time?" she asked, unsure what kind of answer she might get, if any.

J paused to consider her response before speaking. "Yes, it was my first Pokemon. Even before it evolved and grew its wings, we were always together. Through good times...and bad."

Legitimately surprised by the reply, Dawn peeked back over her shoulder at the woman.

"What is it?" J inquired, her tone oddly defensive.

"Oh, n-nothing. It's just...you act so cold all the time, I didn't think you'd open up like that," Dawn told her, turning away again.

J had wondered if Dawn might make fun of her for speaking of the bond between she and Salamence, but that hadn't been the case at all. "I see. I hope I won't be the only one to open up."

Dawn batted her eyelids, curious as to what J meant by that last statement. She wouldn't get much time to think about it, though, as they were now approaching the planned destination.

"We're here," J announced. "Salamence, head down by the gate."

Salamence began a rapid descent toward the ground, causing a feeling of butterflies to arise in Dawn's gut. She tried to get a look at what awaited down below, but it was too difficult with Salamence's head in the way. There was no one else in sight on the ground as Salamence flapped its wings a few times, slowing its downward speed and allowing it to land gently on the grass. J was the first to dismount from her Pokemon. Dawn planned on doing the same, but needed a moment to gather herself as the quick drop through the air had her heart racing.

"Too fast?" J asked, extending a hand out toward the girl.

Dawn grabbed hold of it and allowed J to help her down. "Maybe...a little."

Leaving Piplup sitting on Salamence's back for the time being, Dawn was finally able to get a good look at the structure they'd landed in front of. It had cobblestone walls fifteen feet high all around, and the tips of two white domes stuck out from above them on opposite sides of the enclosure. Two opened gates stood as the entrance, and stretching over top of them was a steel arch with the establishment's name welded into it.

"Balladia Garden," Dawn read it aloud. As the name sunk in, her face lit up with surprise. "Balladia Garden? _The_ Balladia Garden?"

The expression Dawn now wore was a good assurance to J that she'd picked a perfect place to bring the girl. "You recognize it?" the Pokemon hunter asked.

"Yes! I've read about it a few times, and Mom told me about it, too," Dawn gushed. "It's supposed to be just beautiful inside. I've always wanted to come here!"

Dawn's excitement led J's lips to curve upward into a small smile. "Glad to hear it. Well, then," J spoke, turning to her Pokemon, "...Salamence, I want you to play nice with that Piplup. Go on over to your spot."

Salamence gave its trainer a growl of acknowledgment, and Piplup, still sitting atop its back, started to panic as Salamence spread its wings and lifted up into the air again, carrying its passenger away from Dawn.

"Pipluuuup! Pii piplup pipluuuup!" the smaller Pokemon cried out.

"H-hey! Wait a-!" Dawn protested, but J held out an arm to stop her. "What are you doing?"

"I brought you here so that I could spend time with _you_, not your Piplup," J bluntly told her. "Don't worry, Salamence will take care of it."

"That isn't the point! Couldn't you have just asked?"

"Sorry, but I like to act first and ask questions later."

It was clear to Dawn that there wasn't any remorse in J for deciding on her own to send Piplup away, but that didn't come as a great shock to the girl. It was probably just the first of several personality conflicts they'd have today, she figured.

With Piplup now out of the way, J gestured toward the garden's gate with her open hand. "Shall we?"

Though she was still peeved about Piplup, Dawn was willing to put it aside for now. It certainly wasn't the worst thing J had ever done, after all, and Dawn _did_ badly want to go inside the garden and take a look around. "Okay, let's go," she relented without a fight.

Side by side, Dawn and J walked past the open gates and entered Balladia Garden. Once they were inside, the younger of the two was awestruck by the sight that awaited her.

As Dawn had heard about this place, everything she saw before her was crafted of glass. The area she and J had just stepped into was lined entirely by sculptures of trees with large, trumpet-shaped flowers hanging down from their branches. Lights embedded in the walls and the floor gave the flowers colors that varied from yellow to pink, even different shades of blue. Green lights shone from under the glass floor to give the impression of grass, and in the middle of it all stood the most impressive piece the room had to offer. Its base surrounded by a circular pool of water one foot deep, a painted glass statue of Uxie, one of Sinnoh's legendary lake guardians, towered over sculptures and guests alike and had a spotlight shining down upon it from the ceiling.

"Wow!" Dawn exclaimed, taking in every last detail of the works the room had to offer. "Is that Uxie? It looks amazing. The colors are just perfect! And the flowers on the trees are so pretty! I've never seen anything like these before."

"The designer based the sculptures on trees that aren't native to the Sinnoh region," J explained.

"Hmm, that's probably why. How did you know that?" Dawn asked her.

J walked up to the base of the statue and took a look at her reflection in the small pool. "I knew the person who built this garden."

"You're kidding! Really?"

"It was a long time ago, but yes. This is the garden's southern entrance. The northern entrance is similar, only it has a statue of Mesprit rather than Uxie. They're both parts of the outside ring of different features that surround the garden's core."

Taking a closer look around the room they were in, Dawn saw pathways leading both east and west, as well as another leading north. What lay beyond the northern path, however, was blocked by a giant wall of green.

"What is that?" Dawn asked, pointing to the obstructed path.

"A hedge maze, and it's not made of glass," J replied. "No matter where you enter the garden from, you have to navigate your way through that maze to get to the deepest part."

"Oh, wow. It sounds fun. The center must really be something if you have to do some work to get to it."

"Well, you can see for yourself later. I want to show you another room first, though."

"Sure, that's okay. Now that I'm finally here, I want to see as much as I can!"

Though she hadn't forgotten about her disdain for J's profession or the fact that she needed to return to the Pokemon Center by a certain time, Dawn's excitement over getting to see the rest of Balladia Garden had pushed any such thoughts to the back of her mind. She reminded herself to check the time on her Poketch in a bit, but for now she followed J down the western path of the garden, which was gradually curving to the north.

Glass that was sculpted and colored to represent a landscape at sunset had been placed all across the walls of the corridor that the pair followed.

"It's so cool!" Dawn marveled at the work. The mostly orange and red-tinted glass was a beautiful sight, and as Dawn and J went further along, more complex designs began to appear that represented buildings and what looked to be mines. "I wonder what this is supposed to be..."

"There are four corridors like this connecting the different areas of the garden. Each one is a tribute to certain parts of the Sinnoh region," J said, walking up to one of the mines depicted on the wall. "If you've been there before, it shouldn't be tough to figure out what city this represents."

Dawn took a couple of steps back to get a more complete view of the carved glass. The key, she thought, would probably be the mines since only certain areas of Sinnoh would have them. Knowing that, she soon put two and two together. "Oh! It's Oreburgh City, isn't it?"

"Very good," J complimented her, pointing to one of the buildings displayed near the mines. "This represents the Oreburgh Mining Museum, and the Oreburgh Gym is directly behind you on the other wall. It's a very thorough piece of work."

"It sure is. It must have taken them forever to do all this."

"Many, many years. Come, there's more to see."

As Dawn and J continued along the path, the orange and red colors shining on the glass began to darken. The colors of the sunset were replaced by the colors of night, and a new area was depicted in an evening setting. Pale green and blue lights illuminated the glass to give a feel of trees and buildings enveloped in the moonlight. One building in particular, which stood out amongst the others with two familiar statues outside its entrance, was the only hint Dawn needed to figure out which part of the Sinnoh region was being represented this time.

"Hey, that's the Eterna City Museum! This must all be Eterna City, then," Dawn surmised.

J gently brushed her fingers against the sculpture of the museum, the lights behind it shining a pale blue glow onto her face. "He used to say that no city was more lovely at night than Eterna City. That's why he gave it this evening color scheme."

"Yeah, it really is pretty at night. The person that did all this, was he...a friend of yours?"

"A friend? No. Just an old man I would sit around and listen to when I had nowhere else to go. Anyway, let's keep going. I have a feeling you'll like the next spot we're heading to."

"Oh. Okay," Dawn replied softly, not very satisfied with the response she got. J's vague references to her past left a lot to be desired as far as details were concerned, giving Dawn the impression that the woman wasn't eager to disclose anything more.

As they moved onward, the two of them soon came upon a doorway that was covered by a thick, black curtain. There was a sound of running water beyond this point that only added to the intrigue any first time visitor might feel.

Thinking it would be better for Dawn to lead the way, J stepped to the side and gestured with her hand toward the curtain. "This is the garden's western block. Go ahead," she said.

"Me first? 'Kay," Dawn smiled. Eager to see what this new area had to offer, she moved the curtain out of the way and stepped inside.

From the moment she laid eyes on the room, Dawn's breath was taken away. Along the eastern wall, glass statues of six water-type Pokemon—Whiscash, Floatzel, Crawdaunt, Clamperl, Phione and Mantyke, all immersed in blue and purple lighting—had streams of water pouring down from their mouths into a collective pool below. Along the western wall, glass vines of varying sizes stretched down from above, some of them sporting red or pink lit flowers. Thousands of glass stars also shined on the ceiling of the domed room with varying hues of blue and purple light, completing a scene that could be described as a nighttime land of fantasy.

"I'll assume by that expression of yours that you approve of this one," J poked fun at Dawn's speechlessness.

"It's just...it's amazing," Dawn finally managed to talk. "The colors, the sculptures...just...incredible!"

While the surrounding work was impressive, Dawn's attention was now brought to the centerpiece of the room. With a thick, glass bridge arching above it, a small, darkened pond sat directly in the middle of the area. Glass rocks and blades of grass bordered the pond, while small lights on the bridge lit the way for visitors to cross over it safely.

"Let's go on the bridge," J insisted.

"Is it safe?" Dawn asked.

"It wouldn't be here if it weren't. Come on."

Taking Dawn's hand in her own, J led the girl onto the dimly lit bridge. A strange glow beneath the surface of the water soon had Dawn peeking over the rail out of curiosity.

"Hey, I think I just saw something down there. It looked like it was moving," Dawn blinked. She followed J to the middle of the bridge, where she saw the odd glow in the water once more. "There it is again! What is it?"

Giving Dawn a gentle nudge, J pointed to a bowl built into the bridge's rail that was filled with dried flakes of food. "Try sprinkling some of that onto the water's surface."

Dawn dipped her hand into the bowl and brought some of the flakes up by her face for a closer inspection. "What is this?"

"Dried Rindo Berry. Go on, feed them some."

Unsure of what J was referring to, Dawn did as she was instructed and sprinkled some of the flakes down into the water. The glow she'd seen earlier appeared again, only this time it was larger. Whatever was its source was coming closer to the surface.

"Oh, that's...!" Dawn gasped. She felt a little silly for not figuring it out sooner. A Lumineon, its fins glowing a light blue color, had risen up to the water's surface and started nibbling on some of the berry flakes. "Lumineon! I had no idea they had a Pokemon here."

"And not just one," J clarified, sprinkling some of the food over the rail herself. It wasn't long before a second and third Lumineon appeared from the depths and joined their fellow water-type Pokemon for the meal.

"Wow, three of them! I just love that glow their fins give off. Wait...you're not here to steal these Lumineon, are you?" Dawn gave J an accusing look.

Though it was an unpleasant question to hear after she and Dawn been getting along thus far, J couldn't blame her for the skepticism. "Relax, I'm not here on business."

"You're not, huh?" Dawn muttered, narrowing her eyes at the woman. "Would you steal them if someone paid you to do it?"

J allowed a light sigh to escape from her mouth as the verbal prodding persisted. "I do what I need to do."

"That's what I thought," Dawn snorted, turning away in disgust.

"But," J continued, drawing Dawn's eyes back to her, "...even I have certain things I would rather not do unless it was absolutely vital to my survival. To take anything away from this garden...I don't foresee any circumstance where I would need to do that. In fact, I can practically guarantee you that I won't."

Dawn leaned back over the bridge's rail and watched the Lumineon finish off their meal. It was comforting to know that J had some limits as to how far she would go, no matter how few in number they may be. Still, the fact that J wouldn't completely rule out taking something away from here remained bothersome. "Well, that's good, I guess," Dawn halfheartedly conceded. "This place is so neat, I'd hate for anything to happen to it. Especially this room."

"I agree. This is probably my favorite part of the entire garden," J admitted. "I'd bet it would be a popular romantic hotspot if it weren't out in the middle of nowhere."

"Now that you mention it, I was wondering why we haven't seen anyone else here. Is it really that far from people?"

"It certainly isn't close to any big cities. The closest area with a large population would be Veilstone City, and that's a couple of hours away by car. Most people aren't willing to put forth that much effort to come out here regularly."

"Then...why is it here?"

"Because that old man had his heart set on building it at this spot. I don't think he was ever concerned about how popular it was. All he cared about was that everything was just how he wanted it to be."

After giving it some thought, Dawn began to smile. To create something as amazing as this without caring about how popular it would be must have been difficult, she imagined. It was admirable.

"How about we head to the garden's core?" J suggested, breaking the silence. "After that, we can look around some more."

"Yeah, sure," Dawn agreed.

The two of them stepped off the bridge and over to the east exit between the statues of Crawdaunt and Clamperl. Just like the last one, this doorway was also covered by a black curtain to keep the natural light out of the room. Once that was pushed aside, J and Dawn found themselves standing before one of the starting points of the sunlit hedge maze.

After having been inside the darkened room for so long, Dawn had to shield her eyes from the brightness. "Whoa, I wasn't expecting that. There isn't a roof over this area?"

"No. The center of the garden is entirely outdoors, though there is a retractable roof they activate when bad weather is near," J explained. "This hedge maze can be tedious if you don't know where you're going. In the interest of time, would you mind if I led the way?"

The word "time" put a bit of panic into Dawn. She'd gotten so caught up in enjoying the sights of the garden that she'd completely forgotten about checking the time.

"Problem?" J asked, noticing the girl's change in demeanor.

"N-no! Everything's fine! You can lead the way!" Dawn let out a nervous laugh.

J sensed that Dawn wasn't being entirely honest with her, but she opted to remain quiet about it for now. "I see. Let's go then."

While J led Dawn through the labyrinth of bushes, the young coordinator took the chance to glance down at her Poketch. As it turned out, she still had time to spare. "_Whew, that's a relief,_" she thought to herself, able to breathe a little easier now that she knew she wasn't in immediate danger of being late for her rendezvous with the guys. "_Time sure has flown by, though. Staying here for much longer might be a problem. I don't really want to tell J that we need to leave, but I guess I'll have to._"

Dawn's last admission was enough to make her eyes widen with surprise. "_I...really don't want to tell J that I need to go, do I?_" she realized, staring up at the woman's profile from behind. "_It's weird, but...I'm really having fun right now. Still, she hunts Pokemon for a living. Is it wrong for me to be here with her, having fun like this?_"

J turned down a path to the right and Dawn followed, the latter of the two now hanging her head and looking down at the ground as she walked. "_It probably is wrong. Ignoring her when she asked to meet me today would have been the right thing to do,_" Dawn thought. "_But I still chose to meet with her, and then I chose to come with her all the way out here. I don't get it. Why did I do it?_"

As Dawn raised her head, she noticed J staring back at her.

"It isn't much further," J notified the girl.

Dawn felt more comfortable looking into J's eyes right now than she believed she should. "_It's been like this ever since she saved me from falling that day. I want to know why she invited me out here, and why she kept coming to see me before, too,_" she reminded herself. "_Once I get those answers from her...maybe then I'll be able to find my own answers._"

"We're here," J suddenly announced.

Startled, Dawn came to an abrupt halt just before she would have walked right into J's back. "We're at the center already?" she asked.

"The maze doesn't take long at all if you're familiar with it," J said, stepping aside to clear the way for the girl. "After you."

Though her mind was still riddled with questions, Dawn's excitement got the best of her again as she got ready to see what lay within the center of Balladia Garden. Sparing a moment to breathe and mentally prepare, she then stepped forward into what wound up being one of the most amazing places she'd ever seen. "Oh...my...gosh!"

The garden's core had a staggeringly different atmosphere from the darkened one that Dawn and J had just left, yet it was just as beautiful, if not more so. Six large glass statues of Pokemon—three on each side—were surrounded by thick and wildly varying patches of painted glass flowers. Hundreds of different colors were used to make the flower garden look like something out of a fairy tale. The flowers were also spread out behind a curved wooden bench that stretched from the furthest statue on the north side to the furthest on the south side.

The only sight more stunning may have been the centerpiece of this area, and of the entire garden. It was the largest glass statue the complex had within it, a light and dark blue painted sculpture of Azelf that towered well above any visitors. Three separate streams of water spouted from its mouth into the air, each of them pouring down into a circular pool at the statue's base. There was even a 16-foot diameter area around the statue where a clear glass floor, lit with a radiant array of colored lights, showed the excess water from the pool rushing away from the statue on a slightly downward slope. Combined with the pleasant weather that Mother Nature had provided, this spot immediately won Dawn over.

"I suppose it's ironic that the biggest statues I brought you here to see represent the same group of Pokemon that destroyed my ship," J remarked, speaking of the Azelf sculpture and the Uxie one they'd seen earlier. "Impressed?"

"Of course, I am! This is incredible!" Dawn's eyes sparkled. "Hey...is that Piplup?"

Shifting over to where her view wasn't obstructed by the Azelf statue, Dawn confirmed that it was, indeed, her Piplup that she spotted in front of one of the smaller sculptures. J's Salamence was seated beside it.

"Piplup!" Dawn ran over to where her Pokemon sat. "Piplup, thank goodness! I was worried when you got carried off like that before. You're not hurt, are you?"

Seemingly unfazed by the separation from its trainer, Piplup waved its flipper at Dawn to show that it was fine. "Piplup pip."

To Dawn's surprise, Piplup then turned back around and rejoined Salamence in staring up at the statue. "Err...you sure look like you're getting along with Salamence. That's...a little weird," Dawn blinked.

Upon examining the smaller statue, Dawn could see that it was actually modeled after a Salamence. Statues of a Lopunny and a Mismagius stood beside it on the southern side of the core, while statues of an Abomasnow, a Mime Jr., and a Monferno stood along the northern side.

"Wondering about those statues?" J asked as she stepped up next to the girl.

"Yeah. Is there some meaning behind these six Pokemon?" Dawn asked.

"There is. These six made up the team of Pokemon that won the Sinnoh League for the old man long ago."

"The Sinnoh League? Wait, you mean the person that did all of this won the Sinnoh League, too?"

J moved up beside her Salamence, placing a hand upon its head. "We never got to meet his Pokemon, but, before it evolved, Salamence and I used to come here every now and then to look at the work the old man had finished. This one was Salamence's favorite, of course," she said of the statue featuring her Pokemon's likeness. "Before they reach their final evolutionary form, they always yearn to grow wings and fly. Salamence used this statue as motivation. Isn't that right?"

Salamence nuzzled its head against J's hand, letting out a light growl of acknowledgement.

"Wow, that's some story. You must have been so happy when you finally evolved," Dawn giggled, drawing a nod from Salamence.

"You have _no_ idea. We flew around for two days straight afterward," J told her.

"T-...two _days_?"

"It was quite the adventure. Salamence didn't want to land, so we just kept going and going until we didn't have the energy to go any further. We ended up falling asleep in some field in the middle of nowhere and waking up the next day starving."

Hearing that tale from J brought a warm look to Dawn's face. "Sounds like a really great memory."

Dawn's kind words regarding the story gave J a feeling similar to what she'd felt that night when the girl had cleaned the blood away from her face near Lake Valor. It was a good reminder of why she had brought Dawn here in the first place, and also of what she hoped to accomplish by doing so.

"You're right, it is a fine memory," J confirmed, starting to walk toward the curved bench that sat by the eastern wall. "Dawn, leave them be and come have a seat."

"Huh? Oh, sure," Dawn agreed.

While on the way over to the bench, it struck Dawn that she'd forgotten about the time again. "_Oh, no! It hasn't gotten too late, has it?_" she silently fretted, checking her Poketch. Thankfully, it still wasn't yet late enough to warrant concern. "_Phew, I can still make it. I can't spend much longer here, though. I need to tell J really soon._"

Trying to compose herself, Dawn took a seat next to the Pokemon hunter. The entire central area of the garden was visible from where they sat, though the bench was mainly facing the massive statue of Azelf.

"So, Dawn," J spoke, grabbing the girl's attention, "...where are you from?"

Dawn, wondering if she'd heard the woman right, gave her an odd look. "Wh-where am I from? Umm...why would you want to know?"

J looked away in an effort to hide her embarrassment. This was definitely breaching her comfort zone. "I want to...know more about you," she hesitantly came clean.

"You WHAT?" Dawn shrieked, jumping up off the bench. "Okay, that's it!"

J was taken aback by the outburst, only her tough exterior didn't show it. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"Yes, there is something VERY wrong with this!" Dawn raised her voice again. "You're a criminal that hunts Pokemon for a living! I love Pokemon from the bottom of my heart! We couldn't be any more different!"

There wasn't much of a reaction to Dawn's tirade on J's end. The woman merely cocked her head and batted her eyelids as she heard the girl out.

"But you come find me and drag me away from my tent to talk to you. Then you save me from falling from Team Rocket's balloon. Then you leave me one of your headsets. And now _this_?" an exasperated Dawn continued. "Just tell me why! You never give me an answer and it's driving me crazy! Why do you keep doing these things?"

As J stared deep into Dawn's intensely focused eyes, she crossed one leg of hers over the other, then exhaled. "You want an answer?" she asked.

"Yes!" Dawn emphatically responded. Her confusion about this whole situation had finally reached its boiling point.

Willing to adhere to the girl's request, J leaned back against the bench as she stared ahead at the statue of Azelf. "Ever since that night you found me injured, something about you has been bothering me."

"_Something about me...bothered her?_" Dawn wondered to herself.

"I just couldn't seem to brush it off on my own," J explained. "I went to talk to you that one night thinking I might be able to put it to rest, and I thought I'd succeeded. Everything was fine for the next two weeks. Then I'm out on a job one day, and who would I happen to see dangling from a giant Meowth balloon but _you_. I tried to ignore you, but obviously I wasn't able to. And then...while we were riding aboard Salamence together, I realized something. Seeing you again...it made me feel...good."

To hear such an admission come from J's mouth was absolutely stunning to Dawn. "_I can't believe she just said that,_" she silently thought. "_I mean...I was glad to see her, too, but that was just because she saved me. Wasn't it?_"

J set her gaze on Dawn again, bringing a blush to the cheeks of the young coordinator. "I'm a very instinctual woman, Dawn, and right now my instincts are telling me to stay away from you. I don't want to, though. I want to be near you. I want to know more about you. All these things I've never felt before...I want to see what path they lead me down."

Dawn was completely frozen in place. She didn't have the faintest clue what to make of everything she'd just been hit with. J wanted to be near her? She wanted to know more about her? Just what was she trying to say?

"Was that enough of an answer for you?" J asked her.

At a loss for words, Dawn began to stutter. "I-I...umm..."

"If you don't want to tell me about yourself, I suppose I can understand," J added with a disappointed look. "I just didn't think it would be much to ask considering I saved your life."

J had strategically utilized her guilt card, and judging by the look that appeared on Dawn's face, it was undoubtedly effective. Dawn had gotten her answer, now it was time to repay her debt. Sitting herself back down, she placed her hands in her lap and looked back at the silver-haired hunter. "I'm from Twinleaf Town."

"Oh?" J smirked, glad that she'd gotten a proper response to her earlier question. "I don't believe I've ever been there, but it's very close to Lake Verity, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's really close by. The town isn't very big, but I've always liked it there. The weather's nice and everyone's really friendly. And...what about you?"

"Where am I from, you mean? I was raised in Veilstone City."

"Really? That's weird, my mom said she grew up there, too. I guess that's how you knew about this place, since it was so close and all."

"More or less. Anyway, you seem to be traveling around quite a bit. Is there a reason for it?"

Dawn had never mentioned her travels to J, but given the different areas around the region where they'd encountered each other before and the fact that J had either seen her camping out or knew she was in a Pokemon Center on separate occasions, Dawn figured it probably wasn't a difficult thing to discern. "I guess it was pretty obvious, huh? I'm actually a Pokemon coordinator, so I've been entering Pokemon contests all around Sinnoh to collect ribbons."

"A coordinator, eh? I've known a couple coordinators in the past. They really seemed to enjoy what they did," J recalled.

"Of course! It's so much fun putting on a show for a big crowd. My Pokemon and I just love it!" Dawn said excitedly. "Did you ever do Pokemon contests or anything?"

There was a brief twitch in J's eye as Dawn posed that question. "No. When I was very young, I thought of entering the Sinnoh League one day. Life doesn't always cooperate with one's goals, though," she answered. Dawn wanted to know more about what J meant by that, but the woman was quick to move the conversation along. "That Piplup you're always with, was it your first Pokemon?"

"Oh, yeah, it was. How did you know?" Dawn inquired.

"You just seem very attached to it, that's all."

"Haha, that's true. Piplup and I have grown really close since we started our journey. I actually got Piplup the same day I met Ash and Brock."

A sour look crossed J's face at the mention of Dawn's two friends. "Those two...you started traveling with them right after you met them?"

"Well...yeah," Dawn laughed. The way J put it did make it sound bad, but that was without taking the circumstances into account. "We were going the same direction and Professor Rowan seemed to like them, so it just sort of turned out that way. Honestly, I was a little worried about how well I would do taking care of myself on the road and that it might get lonely by myself, but being with the guys made it a lot easier. Brock knows a lot about taking care of Pokemon and cooking, and Ash...he...ummm...he's pretty smart when it comes to Pokemon battles, I guess. He doesn't convey it in words very well, but you can learn a lot watching him battle others."

Interested in some more specific information on that topic, J gave the girl a serious look. "This Ash...do you like him?"

"Do I like him? Well, I sure wouldn't be traveling with him if I hated him."

"That isn't what I meant. I mean do you like him in _that_ way?"

Now understanding what J was getting at, Dawn's cheeks turned a bright shade of red. "What? No! No, no, no! I've never thought of Ash that way. We're just friends!"

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Just friends?"

"Just friends!"

Dawn was starting to find this conversation exhausting. "_She's even asking me stuff like that..._" she thought, wishing the subject of romance had never been brought up.

"Then, I have one last question for now," J said to her.

"O-okay. What is it?" Dawn asked.

J casually uncrossed her legs and turned her body towards the girl. "Where is it that you need to be, and when do you need to be there?"

Initially surprised by the question, Dawn was slow to answer. "Wh-what do you-?"

"You've checked the time on your Poketch more than once since we arrived," J was quick to point out. "Did you think I hadn't noticed?"

"_She sees everything, doesn't she?_" Dawn thought, a grimace appearing on her face. Whether she wanted to or not, it was time to tell the truth. "Umm...actually...the Sinnoh Grand Festival starts tomorrow, so the guys and I are heading over to Lake Valor today."

Given Dawn's situation, J could see why she'd been anxious about what time it was. "The Grand Festival...I take it that means you've won five contest ribbons?"

"Mhmm," Dawn nodded. Slipping the pink backpack away from her shoulders, she reached into the pack's special compartment and pulled out her ribbon case, opening it up for J to see. "It was a lot of work, but I'm really proud of everything my Pokemon and I have been through to get these. The thing is, the guys and I want to travel while it's still light outside, and with how long it took us to fly here-"

"You don't have any further time to spare," J finished the girl's point for her.

"I'm sorry, I should have told you earlier," Dawn apologized. "I just didn't want you to think that I wasn't having fun, because I was! I really didn't think I would, but...anyway, I really do need to go."

J didn't seem all that upset at the news as she lightly shook her head. "Silly girl, you've got no reason to apologize. When you put that much hard work into something, it should be your top priority," she assured Dawn. "We'll leave off here for today. There's much more of the garden to see, but...maybe I could bring you once again after the Grand Festival has ended?"

Dawn didn't fully understand why, but she actually felt happy that J was inviting her to come back to this place again. The decision of whether to accept or not, strangely, was an easy one for her to make. "Sure, I'd like that."

Although one wouldn't know it just by looking at her, J was relieved and glad to hear those words from Dawn. It would give her something to look forward to down the road. For now, though, J stood up to go fetch Salamence so that they could return Dawn to the Palkia statue where they'd met up earlier. Only a few steps from the bench, J would abruptly come to a stop, however, as the sound of other voices suddenly caught her attention.

"That's...is someone else here?" Dawn looked to the Pokemon hunter.

"It appears so," J replied.

The voices sounded like they were coming from the hedge maze. This was a bit unexpected for J, but definitely not something she had ruled out happening. The garden _was_ open to the public, after all. The important thing was going to be identifying whether those who emerged from the green labyrinth would be a problem or not. J may have been enjoying the place today like anyone else, but she was still a wanted criminal. If someone recognized her, there could potentially be trouble.

"_Are you sure this was the right way?_"

"_I think it was..._"

"_Alright, but I'm taking the lead if we end up back where we started again._"

"_Oh, stop that. It only happened once._"

The voices were growing louder now—a sign that those who they belonged to were closing in on the entrance to the garden's core. Soon enough, with her eyes locked on that single entry point, J watched closely as two women emerged from the maze.

"See, I told you this was the right way," one of them smiled.

"Okay, okay. Two tries isn't bad, I suppose," the other laughed.

J didn't immediately recognize either woman.

Dawn, on the other hand, did, and as soon as she saw them, she jumped off the bench and to her feet. "It can't be!" she stared at the pair in disbelief. "Mom? And...Lila?"

The two former Pokemon coordinators were just as surprised by Dawn's presence as she was by theirs.

"Well, look who it is!" Lila, the old rival of Johanna, waved to the girl.

"Dawn? What on earth are you doing here? I thought you would be at the Grand Festival," Johanna asked her daughter as she and Lila made their way over to her.

"That's...your mother?" J glanced down at the girl next to her. Johanna was close enough now that J had a better view of her, and, slowly, J herself began to recall Johanna's face. The normally fearless Pokemon hunter felt her heart skip a beat as she finally realized who the woman was.

Upon noticing Johanna's arrival, Piplup wandered over to greet her. "Piplup piplup!"

"Hello there, Piplup!" Johanna bent down and patted the Pokemon's head.

"I never imagined we'd see you here, Dawn," Lila said, remembering well the girl that had defeated her in the Celestic Town Pokemon contest.

While she was always happy to see her mother and Lila, those two and J being here at the same time had Dawn feeling incredibly uneasy right now. If they knew who J was, there was going to be a lot of explaining to do. "Y-yeah, how weird! What are you guys doing here?"

"I planned a day off for myself a while back and told your mother we should do something together, so here we are," Lila explained. She then turned her attention to the taller woman next to Dawn. "And who is this? A friend?"

J, trying to avoid eye contact with everyone, could feel a curious look being placed upon her by Johanna. "_This is bad. I need to get out of here,_" she decided. She started to walk away, thinking it far better to let Dawn handle this situation on her own, but her escape would be impeded as Johanna stepped out in front of her all of a sudden.

The Pokemon hunter pulled back, inexplicably frightened by the stare of Dawn's mother. Neither Lila nor Dawn knew what Johanna was thinking, but it appeared that she and J were no strangers to one another.

"Je-...Jeanne?" Johanna softly uttered.

Immensely confused at the name that had just been spoken, Dawn repeatedly looked back and forth between her mother and J. "Jeanne? Who's Jeanne?" she asked.

J clenched her teeth and her brows furrowed, her discomfort becoming painfully obvious to everyone, including Johanna.

"Ah...I'm sorry if I did something to upset you," Johanna quickly apologized. "I just...I haven't seen you since-"

"DAWN!" J abruptly shouted, both cutting off and startling Johanna in the process. "I'll be waiting with Salamence when you're ready to leave!"

With that declaration, J stormed away from the others in a hurry, no longer able to remain in Johanna's presence.

"Jeanne..." Johanna watched with a pained look in her eyes as J took her leave.

"Well, that was rude. I don't think she likes you, Johanna," Lila stood with her hands on her hips. "She seems to like your daughter here just fine, though."

"Yeah, umm...it's a long story," Dawn said with a nervous laugh. She was glad that nobody recognized J to be a wanted Pokemon poacher, but the apparent familiarity between her mother and J was another bizarre issue altogether. "Mom, do you know her?"

"Yes...or at least I used to," Johanna replied, still unsure what she'd done to upset the silver-haired woman. "Back before I retired from being a Pokemon coordinator, I used to visit schools in Veilstone City to speak with students and answer questions for them. Jeanne was one of those students. She was very young, but incredibly smart for her age, and energetic, too. I remember she had a Bagon, and the two of them together were quite a team."

Captivated by this unexpected development, Dawn listened to her mother's every word.

"She used to speak to me as much as any child did. We even had a couple of practice battles together. She was so happy back then," Johanna continued on. "Then, one day, I visited her school and she wasn't in class. I asked about her afterward, and that's when I heard the awful news. Her parents had both passed away in an accident. Jeanne was sent to live with some relatives in another town after that, and I never once saw her again."

With pity in her eyes, Dawn looked toward the Salamence statue where J stood with her back to everyone. "That's terrible. I never knew."

"Yes, that poor girl. She seems so different now," Johanna sighed. "I would love to speak to her, but I think it would only upset her more. How did you end up meeting her, Dawn?"

Dawn knew that answering her mother's question honestly wouldn't be the wisest of moves. Thankfully, she had an excuse ready to get her out of this situation. "I'll tell you some other time, Mom, I promise! But right now I really need to get back to the guys so we can head to Lake Valor. I don't want to be late for the Grand Festival!"

"No, you certainly don't," Johanna chuckled, her mood brightening up thanks to her daughter. "You give it all you've got, okay?"

"Yeah! No need to worry, I'm ready for it," Dawn said with confidence. "Are you going to come watch me?"

"Mmm, I'm afraid I have some other responsibilities at home over the next couple of days, so I'll only be watching you on TV. But...I do happen to be free on the day of the final match. If you make it that far, I'll definitely be there. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good to me!"

"Hey, I'll be watching you from wherever I am as well, Dawn," Lila chimed in. "You'd better be holding that big cup over your head when it's all over!"

"Thanks! It's my first Grand Festival, so I don't know if I'll win or not, but I'll sure try!" Dawn smiled, taking Piplup into her arms. "Okay, I'm off then. I'll see you later, Mom! Lila!"

"Oh, Dawn," Johanna spoke, her expression becoming more serious, "...please look after Jeanne, would you? I don't know what happened, but I have a feeling she could use a friend."

Dawn glanced over her shoulder at the brooding Pokemon hunter. Looking at her now, she got the very same feeling. "Yeah, I'll do my best. Bye, Mom!"

As Johanna and Lila waved goodbye, Dawn hurried over to where J had been waiting. "Okay, I'm ready to go," she said.

Without a word, J hopped up onto Salamence's back. Dawn again took her seat in front of the woman, and the two of them embarked on their return trip in complete silence.

* * *

Things remained quiet during the first half of the venture back to the statue of Palkia. The sour demeanor J was displaying had Dawn feeling on edge about speaking to her, but there was so much she was eager to learn about now. Was J really the Jeanne that her mother remembered? And if so, how did she change so drastically? Dawn had already learned why J kept appearing before her. Now, she wanted to know more. "Umm..."

"What is it?" J asked, already sounding irritated.

Apprehensive, but still willing to press forward, Dawn finished what she was going to say. "Well...your name-"

"My name is J and nothing else," the Pokemon hunter stopped her from going any further. "Whatever your mother told you, just forget about it. It was a different time and it doesn't matter anymore."

Dawn could see that J was far from comfortable when it came to the topic of her name. "Oh. Alright," she relented. "I-...I'm sorry about your parents. I had no idea."

J's head hung slightly. "Like I said, it was a different time. I've gotten over that," she claimed, though a hint of shakiness in her voice suggested otherwise. "Honestly, I can't believe you were Johanna's daughter, of all people."

"Yeah, I was really surprised that you two knew each other," Dawn chuckled, hoping she could lighten the atmosphere a little. "She seemed really worried about you, J. Where did you go after you moved away from Veilstone City back then?"

"Didn't I say to forget about it?"

"Maybe, but you wanted me to tell you about myself earlier, right? Well, I'd like to know a little about you, too."

"It's one thing to say where you're from, but it's quite another to speak of a time in your past that you would prefer to forget. I've never spoken of such things to anyone, and I intend to keep it that way. Let it go."

Though not getting an answer was a letdown, Dawn could understand J's reluctance to speak. No doubt some things had happened at that time in J's life that she didn't want to think about again. Pokemon hunter or not, Dawn knew that pressuring the woman any further wasn't the right thing to do.

"Okay, J. I won't ask about it anymore," Dawn assured her. "But, if you ever feel like talking about it, I'll be there to listen."

As Dawn's offer sunk in, J bit down on her lower lip. "_This girl,_" she thought to herself. "_Johanna, your child is just as frustrating as you were._"

For the remainder of the journey, neither Dawn nor J spoke to one another. They reached the statue of Palkia in good enough time that Dawn wasn't at all concerned about making it to Lake Valor before sunset. The more difficult part, she figured, would be trying to explain to the boys where she'd been all this time.

Once they had landed, Dawn dismounted from Salamence, and Piplup appeared to bid farewell to J's dragon-type Pokemon. "Piplup pii piplup pip."

Salamence growled back at Piplup in response, its own way of saying goodbye.

"And here you were so scared of Salamence before," Dawn giggled at her Pokemon.

Piplup folded its flippers over its chest and shook its head in denial, but the act fooled no one.

Now that she no longer had an extra passenger to look after, J stood up atop Salamence's back as she usually did when flying solo. Her mind was a mess after she'd come in contact with Johanna, and knowing what Johanna had likely told Dawn only made it worse. Seldom before had she been so eager as she was now to get back to her base and get her head straight.

"I'm leaving, then," J declared, facing away from Dawn. "Good luck at the Grand Festival."

"W-Wait!" Dawn suddenly implored her. As J looked back, Dawn shyly began twiddling her fingers. "Umm...the opening round is tomorrow. It's only the appeal round, so there won't be battling or anything, but...would you...like to come watch?"

The invitation wasn't something that J had expected. "You're asking me to come watch you perform?" she asked.

"Well, I mean...you did say you wanted to know more about me. So, if you've got nothing else to do..." Dawn averted her eyes, a bit embarrassed.

Due to the short notice, J had to give the request some thought before replying. It wasn't as if she didn't want to go, because, truthfully, she did. There were, however, other complications. "I'll...be busy tomorrow, I believe."

Dawn looked down toward the ground, the disappointment evident in her body language. "Oh."

"But," J went on, bringing some hope to the younger girl, "...I may be able to make it. We'll see."

Satisfied with that much, Dawn raised her head. "Okay. I hope you can," she smiled. "Bye, J."

"I'll see you again, Dawn," J offered her parting words.

Their goodbyes spoken, J and Salamence took to the sky, quickly disappearing behind the trees that bordered the statue of Palkia.

"Wow, what a day," Dawn, finally alone again, exhaled deeply. "Did I really just invite J to come to the Grand Festival?"

"Piplup pip," her Pokemon nodded its head in confirmation.

Dawn almost couldn't believe it herself. It was amazing how much things had changed between she and J since the day began. Just how much they would continue to change, that was something she would have to wait to find out.

With the Grand Festival less than a day away, Dawn gazed up into the sky one last time before she started back toward the Pokemon Center. "I wonder if she'll really come..."

* * *

**End of Chapter 6**


	7. Opening Round

_**Capture the Heart**_**  
by rkOujirou**

Author's note: This story is a continuation based on the Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl anime, starting from after the episode "The Battle Finale of Legend!".

Disclaimer: Pokemon is not my idea and I don't own it or any of the characters, obviously.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

"_We didn't miss anything, did we?_"

"_Nah, I think we made it in time._"

"_Nice! Let's hurry and find a good spot._"

The time of the Sinnoh Grand Festival was finally at hand as thousands of spectators poured into the large venue at the edge of Lake Valor. Three stages set up on the floor of the building—one red, one blue, and the other green—would soon play host to 108 Pokemon coordinators trying to impress the judges enough for they and their Pokemon to advance to the second round of the competition.

Among those many coordinators, one in particular was currently peeking out from behind the curtain of the green stage. Clad in a dress of a light yellow color, Dawn, whose styled hair was tied behind her head with a sizable pink ribbon, smiled once she spotted her friends sitting in the front row of the crowd. "They sure got some good seats."

After returning from Balladia Garden yesterday, Dawn was fully expecting to be questioned by her traveling mates regarding where she'd been. Surprisingly, though, Ash and Brock were rather quiet about it. Once Dawn reached the Pokemon Center, the boys simply welcomed her back and suggested they all start heading for the lakeside resort. Why they weren't more curious of her whereabouts was a mystery to Dawn, but she was thankful things had turned out that way. For obvious reasons, the question of how she'd spent her time away wasn't something she would've been eager to explain.

Now that she knew where her friends were, Dawn turned her attention to searching for another individual. Specifically, she wanted to know if the person that had taken her on that unexpected trip yesterday, the person she'd later invited to come here today, had been able to make it.

"J," Dawn spoke the woman's name, scouring the crowd for any sign of the Pokemon hunter, "...I...don't see her."

Dawn was well aware that not being able to spot J just yet didn't necessarily mean she wasn't there. The number of people in attendance was staggering, and many more were still filing into the venue and trying to find seats. It would be easy to miss one individual out of that bunch.

For now, however, figuring out whether or not J had shown up would have to wait. With the time for her opening round performance nearing, Dawn needed to focus on that and that alone. And so, letting the curtain fall back into place, the young coordinator started making her way back to the locker room.

"I really don't know why I want her to watch me so badly," Dawn folded her arms as she walked, still not quite understanding how she felt about the woman. "But...somehow, I definitely think she'll be here."

* * *

Elsewhere in the Sinnoh region, three regular members of J's crew were sitting around inside the control center of their base. While two of the men chatted with one another, the third quietly read through a collection of notes attached to a clipboard.

"Man, I'm still beat," one of the men spoke. "Commander J sure was in a hurry to get that job done today."

"Yeah, you don't see her rush a job like that too often," his fellow crewman concurred.

"And then she goes off to deliver the goods by herself? It's not like her, man."

"Hmm...maybe she felt like letting us head back early to give us some extra rest since we've been working so hard lately."

"Hah! That's a good one. She'd _never_ be that considerate!"

The conversation would come to a pause when the two crewmen heard one of the doors to the room slide open. Looking toward the open door, the men watched as Pokemon Ranger Solana and the two other recruits, all three showing clear signs of fatigue, appeared from out of the corridor and fell in line.

After checking his watch, the crewman who'd been sifting through his notes stood up to address the three. "Good, you're on time. Feeling tired yet?"

"No, sir!" the recruits responded in unison. They knew they couldn't allow themselves to show any weakness.

"I should hope not. Any member of this crew could do what you've done so far with ease," the man told them. "Listen up! I'm sure you're all eager to participate in the jobs we do, but not a single person goes out into the field without knowing how every facet of our operation works. That's why, once your initiation is complete, all of you are going to be serving a great deal of time looking after the operations of this base before you're allowed to head out on jobs with the rest of us. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"By Commander J's orders, you'll all begin training today in learning how to work the controls in this room. Remember that something as simple as adjusting one of the cameras outside or sending a message to all personnel within the base at once can mean the difference in keeping a minor problem from becoming something serious."

Though she was exhausted from the labor she'd had to endure since the beginning of her initiation, Solana now had a certain gleam in her eye. "_Finally!_" she wearily thought. "_This is exactly what I've been waiting for._"

* * *

"And next on the green stage, please welcome Dawn from Twinleaf Town!"

Back at Lake Valor, a round of applause erupted from the crowd as the green curtain opened and Dawn stepped out onto the stage. Ursula, Jessilina, Nando and Zoey had all impressed with their performances so far, while Kenny, Dawn's childhood friend, fell victim to a miscue that was sure to hurt his chances to advance. Despite witnessing what had happened to Kenny, Dawn was all smiles as her excitement for this special moment kept her focused.

With Dawn's performance about to begin, a certain someone in the audience devoted her full attention to the stage below. Standing by one of the exits behind even the furthest back of seats was a woman dressed in a long, white trench coat. Wearing a pair of fake glasses and a wig of black hair that ran all the way down to her waistline, she had waited through all of the previous performances just to see the one that was about to take place.

That woman was an incognito Pokemon Hunter J.

A high-profile event such as the Grand Festival always had a large police presence, hence why J had chosen to alter her appearance before she arrived. It was a little extra trouble to go through, but she felt compelled to come after Dawn had extended the invitation to her yesterday. After all, this was a chance to see the girl performing her greatest passion in life. As Dawn had suggested, if J wanted to know more about her, this was the place to be.

"There she is," J softly spoke. "I'm here, Dawn. Show me what it is that drives you."

Out on the stage, Dawn's Cyndaquil and Bunneary emerged from their pokeballs along with a large, blue ribbon that exploded into a shower of sparkles courtesy of the ball capsules and seals Dawn had used. The flashy start made an excellent opening impression on both fans and judges alike.

For her first move, Dawn had Bunneary use its Ice Beam to create a frozen roller coaster. That was then followed up by Cyndaquil using its Flame Wheel to carve out a track on the ice, which Bunneary had a blast sliding along behind the fire-type Pokemon. It was a cute sight that the audience absolutely adored.

As J watched from the crowd, she could see just how much fun Dawn was having with her performance, and how much fun her Pokemon were having as well. "_She looks so happy to be out there,_" J noticed. "_And her performance...it isn't like the others. Rather than a feat of skill that an audience only sees and appreciates, it's a performance that draws them in and allows them to have fun along with her. I see. So this is Dawn's style._"

Brock, Ash, Pikachu and Piplup cheered on from the front row as Dawn began the finale of her routine, having Bunneary use Ice Beam and Cyndaquil use Smoke Screen simultaneously. The Pokemon soon disappeared within the cloud of smoke, and that prompted some unsure looks from everyone watching.

Concealing her Pokemon was a mistake that had cost Dawn in the past, but this time she would make it work to her advantage. The smoke was blown away by flames that appeared as wings coming out of Cyndaquil's body, unveiling a pokeball made of ice with Bunneary encased inside. As Dawn's performance came to an end, the light from Cyndaquil's flames illuminated the ice and created a beautiful blue glow for all to see.

The fans roared with approval at the job the coordinator and her Pokemon had done, and the judges sounded impressed as well.

Hearing the audience's extremely positive reaction from all around the venue, a slight smirk crossed J's face as she turned to leave. "Johanna's daughter, indeed. She'll have no problem advancing with that showing," she predicted with confidence. "Now then, how should I congratulate her?"

* * *

After the results of the appeal round had been announced, Dawn went to change back into her regular clothes in the locker room. She couldn't have been happier that both she and Zoey had done well enough to advance to the next round, but Kenny not making the cut was tough to see. It was a harsh reminder of just how much one mistake could cost someone no matter how much preparation they'd put in.

Once she was all dressed, Dawn stepped outside to join Ash, Brock and Zoey.

"There's our other second-rounder," Brock greeted her.

"Hey, Dawn. Still feeling the rush like I am?" Zoey grinned.

"Oh my gosh, yes!" Dawn shared a laugh with the other girl. "I wish the butterflies would calm down, but I'm just so excited right now."

"I know how that feels. Whether it's for contests or battles, there's nothing like competing on the biggest stages," Ash spoke from experience.

Dawn nodded her head in agreement. "Definitely! There's no feeling like it in the world."

"_Excuse me!_"

Everyone in the group took notice as a uniformed employee of the venue, carrying what appeared to be a bouquet of sunflowers, came up to them. "You're Dawn, right?" the man asked.

"Y-yes, that's me," Dawn blinked.

"Here you are," the employee handed her the flowers. "I was asked to deliver these to you."

Dawn couldn't have looked any more confused than she did right at that moment. "Huh? For me?" she began to blush. This was definitely new territory for her. She'd never received anything like this after a contest before. "Wow, they're so pretty! But...who would send me flowers?"

The employee gestured toward a piece of paper that sat within the bouquet. "They didn't say, but I think that card may hold the answer. Good luck tomorrow!"

"Oh, th-thank you," Dawn uttered a nervous laugh as the man left to return to his regular job duties.

"Well, well. Somebody's got an admirer," Zoey teased her friend, giving her a light nudge with her elbow.

"What? Oh, no, I'm sure it's not like that," Dawn tried to downplay the gift's significance.

"That sure was cool of someone to send ya those," Ash said.

"Yeah, looks like your performance earned you a fan," Brock chuckled. "Why not check the card to see who they're from?"

Dawn could see that everyone was interested in the identity of the sender, and she was certainly curious herself. Thus, careful not to damage the flowers, she pulled out the small, white card and read it.

_You were magnificent. - J_

Upon first reading the note, Dawn could only stand there with her mouth hanging open. She read it a second time, then a third, just to make sure she hadn't gotten it wrong.

Dawn wasn't imagining things. It really did say what she had thought it said, and with that realization, her lips curved upward into a warm smile. "_J...she really came to watch me,_" she thought. Her initial surprise turning to happiness, Dawn clutched the dozen sunflowers close to her chest and leaned down to take in some of their fragrance. It was only when she glanced up and saw the sly looks her friends were shooting her way that she became aware of what she'd just been doing.

"Hmm, I think they're from someone you know," Zoey poked fun at her friend again.

Not wanting to let the truth be known, Dawn fumbled around for an explanation. "Uh, n-no, they're...umm-"

"I understand!" Brock suddenly shouted, an epiphany having dawned on him. "I've seen that look of yours before, Dawn!"

Somehow, Dawn didn't like where this was going one bit. "Uhh...y-...you have?" she asked nervously.

"There's no doubt about it!" Brock emphatically pointed a finger toward her. "The coloring of your cheeks, the dreamy look in your eyes...it's the unmistakable look of someone in love!"

Both Zoey and Dawn herself stood shocked at the allegation. Ash, on the other hand, didn't quite grasp the magnitude of it.

"So...Dawn's in love?" Ash scratched his head.

"Are you really, Dawn?" Zoey inquired, her interest greatly piqued.

For Dawn, this whole thing was starting to go way overboard. "No! No, no, no, no, no! It's not like that!" she adamantly denied the assessment. "Look, there's no _way_ I'd be in-"

Dawn stopped in mid-sentence, and, ever so slowly, a blank look spread across her face. She knew she'd been having trouble getting J off of her mind for a while now. In fact, ever since the day she'd fallen from Team Rocket's balloon and J had saved her—no, maybe even before that—a part of Dawn had always been wishing to see the woman again. That urge had only grown stronger as a result of their trip to Balladia Garden yesterday, to the point that Dawn had actually invited J to come watch her perform today. Now, for her to feel so much joy that J had not only shown up, but even sent her congratulatory flowers...

Dawn's face was burning red with embarrassment. She couldn't be here with her friends right now. She needed to get away, fast. "I-...I need to go!" she told the others, and with that she abruptly ran off down the hallway toward one of the building's exits.

"H-hey, Dawn...!" Zoey tried to stop her, but to no avail.

"Mmm...coming to grips with love can be difficult," Brock stated, convinced that he knew exactly what Dawn was going through.

Standing beside the others, Ash still looked completely lost. "Yeah...I don't get it. What's the big deal about being in love?"

Zoey just stared at the dense trainer in disbelief. "Are you serious?" she muttered.

Meanwhile, still holding the flowers close to her body, Dawn rushed out of the venue and ran along the outside of it, just trying to find someplace with as few bystanders as possible. Given that the competition for the day had ended a good while ago, there weren't many stragglers left around the building, and that made it easier for Dawn to find a suitable spot. Once she was the only person within hearing distance of where she stood, the overwhelmed girl fell back against the wall.

Dawn felt like her head was spinning. Her cheeks were still flushed, and her heart was beating rapidly as the scent of the sunflowers wafted by her nose. The rise in her heart rate was partly due to her sprint a moment ago, but was more a result of the very idea that had caused her to hurry away from her friends in the first place.

"_This can't be right! This...this just can't..._" an exasperated Dawn thought to herself. "_How did...when did I...am I really in-!_"

"Good, I see that man did what I asked of him," a female voice spoke all of a sudden, interrupting Dawn's train of thought.

Dawn was so distracted that she hadn't even noticed the unfamiliar woman approaching her. Now that she was aware of her presence, Dawn took a closer look at the dark-haired individual. "Umm...were you talking to me?" the puzzled girl asked.

Amused by the question, the woman smiled a bit as she removed the fake pair of glasses she'd been wearing. "I suppose if even _you_ don't recognize me, that would mean my disguise is a success."

The woman's voice was ringing a bell with Dawn, and, as she stared up into her light blue eyes, she soon realized just who it was that she was speaking with. "J?" she gasped.

"It wasn't easy to make the time, but I'm glad I came to watch you today. I got to see something interesting," J told her, reaching out and lightly brushing her hand against the young girl's cheek. "I thought sunflowers would suit your personality. Always warm, bright. Always bringing out the best in those around you."

Dawn felt her heart jump within her chest. She opened her mouth, trying to speak, but the feeling of J's warm touch on her face left her tongue-tied. That silence, however, gave the Pokemon hunter the wrong impression.

"You didn't care for the flowers?" J retracted her hand, raising an eyebrow.

"N-no, that's not it! I love the flowers!" Dawn finally managed to talk.

"What is it then?" J asked her.

Sensing the blood rushing to her cheeks again, Dawn held up the bouquet and hid the lower part of her face behind it. "It's...it's nothing," she claimed. "Thank you...for coming to watch me today. And for the flowers."

J gave the girl a suspicious look. "You're not telling me something," she insisted. "You've had quite the day, though, so maybe I'll let it go just this once."

"I'm not hiding anything from you! Really!" Dawn tried to put the woman's mind at ease. She didn't know how well it worked, if at all, but there was no way she could tell J the real reason she was acting strangely. "So, anyway...the battle rounds start tomorrow. Are you...free?"

The hopeful look in Dawn's eyes wasn't lost on J. Unfortunately, it only made her situation more difficult to explain. "I was able to find time today, but I'm afraid it won't be possible over the next couple of days. I'm sorry," she apologized.

"Oh. Well, that's okay. I figured I might as well ask, but...if you have to go...hunt Pokemon..." Dawn sighed, her voice dripping with both disappointment and disdain over J's work.

After she'd said that, Dawn expected the woman to vigorously defend her profession as she'd done in the past. J, however, was oddly silent on the subject this time around.

"Dawn," the silver-haired hunter spoke, "...the next time I contact you, I want to hear that you advanced through every round that I missed. Understand?"

Able to tell that this was J's way of motivating her, Dawn allowed a smile to return to her face. "No need to worry. I'll do my best."

"I know you will," J contently replied. "I'll talk to you soon."

Their conversation over for now, J headed off in search of a more concealed area where she could fly away on her Salamence without drawing any attention.

"Yeah. Bye," Dawn said in a voice so soft that it was nearly inaudible. While she watched J leave, she let herself slide downward until she was sitting with her back against the wall, still holding the sunflowers close to her heart. "I'm...I'm in love...with a Pokemon hunter."

* * *

**End of Chapter 7**


	8. The Hunter's Past

_**Capture the Heart**_**  
by rkOujirou**

Author's note: This story is a continuation based on the Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl anime, starting from after the episode "The Battle Finale of Legend!".

Disclaimer: Pokemon is not my idea and I don't own it or any of the characters, obviously.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

On a clear and mild night with the stars and a crescent moon shining brightly in the sky, Dawn sat quietly at a small table on the balcony of her hotel room that overlooked Lake Valor. Four days had passed since the opening round of the Sinnoh Grand Festival. In that time, Dawn had defeated Ursula, Jessilina and two others in contest battles to earn herself a spot in the final round. Tomorrow, she would square off against her friend, Zoey, for the title of Top Coordinator.

Dawn was feeling plenty nervous about what was unquestionably the most important contest battle of her budding career, but the upcoming match wasn't the only thing on her mind at the moment. "I wonder what she's doing right now," she voiced her thoughts as she stared up at the moon.

Feeling the night's gentle breeze through her pink pajamas, Dawn ran the tip of her finger along the headset J had given her which sat in her lap. The day of the Grand Festival's opening round was also the last time she had spoken to the notorious Pokemon hunter.

Dawn's realization four days ago that she was in love with J had been a difficult thing to accept. After all, this wasn't exactly the type of person she ever imagined she would fall for. No, this was J. Not only was she another female, she was also someone who was at the opposite end of the spectrum from Dawn as far as morals were concerned.

Still, Dawn couldn't deny how she felt. She'd felt it when J had caught her after she'd fallen from Team Rocket's balloon. She'd felt it when J had shown her around Balladia Garden. She'd felt it when J had sent her flowers after her performance the other day.

Dawn wanted to see J again. She wanted to be near her. She wanted to touch her, and to feel J's touch in return.

At the same time, however, Dawn felt extremely torn about it all. She couldn't help feeling like she was in the wrong for having such affection for a person that captured and sold Pokemon for a living. Even as recently as the last time they'd spoken, J had insinuated that she would be busy over the next few days. Dawn could only imagine that meant J was off on one of her jobs again, finding yet more Pokemon to poach. The young coordinator didn't like thinking about it, but it wasn't something she could easily get out of her mind.

"I don't know what's right and what isn't anymore," Dawn said, sighing to herself. "But...it's been four days now. I wish I could at least talk to her before tomorrow."

"_That could be arranged._"

Dawn nearly fell out of her chair as a voice came from the headset in her lap. "Wahh! W-wait, is that...?" she spoke, hurrying to put the headset on. Dawn immediately brightened up as she saw a small window on the device displaying the live image of a familiar, silver-haired woman. "J!"

"Sorry I took so long," J apologized. The joyful look on Dawn's face right now was something she'd been looking forward to seeing again. "How have you fared at the Grand Festival?"

"Awesome!" Dawn excitedly informed her. "I made it all the way to tomorrow's final round."

"You reached the finals?" J asked, sounding impressed. "You know, I'm not all that surprised. Well done."

"Thank you," Dawn smiled.

"Is your next opponent strong?"

"Mhmm, she's really amazing. It's going to be tough for me to beat her."

Thinking she had heard a twinge of self-doubt in the girl's answer, J felt a need to do something about it. "You can win, Dawn," she assured her. "Give it everything you've got. I want you to be holding that winner's trophy the next time I see you."

Dawn really didn't feel she was lacking in confidence, but she still appreciated the boost in morale. "I promise I'll do everything I can to make sure that happens," she happily replied. "Hey, speaking of tomorrow, are you going to come watch me?"

It wasn't a great feeling for J to deliver the bad news the last time Dawn had asked about her presence at the contest, but this time J had a more favorable response for her. "Dawn, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Y-you mean you'll be there?"

"Sure, I don't see why not."

Dawn couldn't hide her elation at the news. "Wow, that's so great! I'll really have to put on a show then," she giggled. Her eyes closing all of a sudden, Dawn reached up to cover her mouth as she let out a hefty yawn. "Oh, gosh, is it already getting late?"

"Go get some rest. You'll be needing your energy tomorrow," J insisted. She hadn't gotten to talk to Dawn for very long, but there would be plenty of time for chat after the girl's Grand Festival commitments were behind her.

"Yeah, you're right," Dawn agreed. "Hey, J?"

"What is it?" J asked her.

Dawn looked as though she wanted to say something. After some hesitation, however, she quickly shook her head. "It's...it's nothing. Goodnight!"

Before J could speak again, Dawn removed the headset and set it back in her lap. "_I couldn't say it,_" the girl thought to herself.

"_Oh, there you are._"

Dawn jumped in her seat as she suddenly heard someone speaking out behind her. Doing her best to conceal the headset, she looked back over her shoulder to see Brock standing in the balcony doorway. "B-Brock! Hey!"

"Yeah..." Brock quirked an eyebrow at his friend, sensing something odd about her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Totally fine. Just thinking about tomorrow and all," Dawn replied with a nervous chuckle.

Dawn's answer didn't sound the most convincing, but Brock didn't feel a need to question her any further. "All right, just making sure," he brushed the topic aside. "Anyway, I was going to say that you should probably get some rest."

"Yep, you read my mind. I'm going to bed in just a minute."

"Sounds like a plan."

Brock closed the balcony door and went back inside, leaving Dawn to breathe a huge sigh of relief. "That was a close one!"

Meanwhile, back at her private room within her base, J took off her own headset, staring at it for a moment as she pondered the last bit of her conversation with Dawn. The girl had wanted to tell her something, but what was it? It most likely wasn't urgent, J figured. Probably something that she could inquire about another day. But...not knowing for sure was bothering her. _Really_ bothering her.

* * *

Elsewhere, inside the control center of J's base, a lone crewman sat not-so-attentively in front of a series of monitors. The general quietness of the day coupled with his unusually low energy level was causing the man to have a difficult time keeping his eyes open. "Come on, just one more hour," he mumbled to himself.

The self-encouragement, as it turned out, wasn't of great help. Within minutes, the crewman's eyes were closed and his body was beginning to slump down in his chair. That problem would be quickly taken care of, however, as the sound of one of the doors sliding open followed by an assertive female voice speaking out roused the man from his slumber.

"_I'm going out for a bit. Close the doors behind me._"

Startled, the crewman pushed himself back to an upright seated position and swiveled his chair around just in time to see his Commander, J, walking by. Unfortunately for him, he was still presenting the look of someone who had just woken up, and that look wasn't missed by his boss.

"Were you asleep just now?" J shot her subordinate a furious glare.

"N-no, sir! Of course not!" the man panicked. "I-I was just-"

"Tell me the order I just gave you!" J demanded of him.

Because he was so out of it at the time, the crewman truly had no idea what J had commanded him to do. "I-...I'm afraid I didn't catch it, sir!" he admitted, standing up from his seat and hanging his head in shame.

Wearing an unnerving scowl, J stormed over to the man and got right up in his face. "Do you know what my greatest pet peeve is?" she asked, to which her crew member anxiously shook his head. "People who slack off on the job! And I certainly hope you aren't guilty of this, because I assure you that any subordinate of mine doing such a thing will be kissing their position on my crew goodbye! Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir! Understood, sir!" the crewman answered without hesitation.

Her point made, J slowly backed away from the man. "As I said the first time, I am going out for a bit. Close the doors behind me."

J made her way out of the bunker and took off aboard her Salamence, after which the rattled crewman used the controls to shut the doors at the base's entrance before flopping back down into his seat. "Man, that was awful. If we weren't so short-handed, she wouldn't have thought twice about cutting me loose," he groaned. "Now I'll have to work extra hard to repair my image. That's just great. I'm such an idiot!"

Despite the harrowing run-in with his Commander, the crewman still felt that uncomfortable sensation of sleep trying to overtake him. He had roughly an hour remaining on his shift, and that was a big problem. If he was found to be sleeping when J returned or when the next individual showed up to watch over the control center, it would take a miracle for him to retain his position on the crew.

While the man was trying any little thing he could to keep himself awake, he heard the sound of one of the control center's doors opening once again. He knew it couldn't be J, and he didn't imagine anyone else from the crew would be coming here at this time of day, so whoever had opened the door was initially a mystery to him. As it so happened, the visitor wasn't a member of the crew at all, but rather one of the new recruits.

"Good evening, sir," Solana greeted her superior as she entered the room.

"Oh, it's you," the dreary crewman halfheartedly replied. "What are you doing here?"

Solana, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation between the crewman and J, figured to use what she had heard to her advantage. "Well, if I may be blunt, sir, you look exhausted," she said to him. "It's really no surprise considering how hard you've been working lately. So, I was wondering if I could take over for you here. I'd really like to get some extra experience under my belt, and I believe you could use the rest."

"Is that so? That's a good attitude to have! You're a real go-getter," the established crew member laughed. The more he thought about it, the more this seemed like a blessing for him. This way he wouldn't be caught sleeping on the job again. And if anything were to go wrong, he could simply pass it off as trying to give a recruit some extra training. "Okay, why not? There's only an hour left in my shift anyway."

"Thank you so much, sir! I appreciate it," Solana enthusiastically expressed her gratitude.

"Sure thing. You've been working with these controls for a few days now, so it should be fine. Just don't screw anything up. Oh, and if Commander J returns, be sure to let her back in. She'll raise hell if you don't."

"Got it!"

Some small chatter later, the tired crewman exited the control center and headed for his room to get some much-needed shuteye.

Everything had gone according to Solana's plan. Now the sole individual with the base's controls at her fingertips, the undercover Pokemon Ranger brought her wristwatch up by her mouth and pressed a button on its side. "This is Pokemon Ranger Solana," she spoke into the device. "Stand by to commence Operation Sunset."

* * *

As the night wore on, Ash, Dawn and Brock were all sleeping comfortably in their hotel room. Since the room only had two beds, Ash and Brock, along with Pikachu, had been sharing one during their stay there. Dawn and Piplup were usually occupying the other bed, which was the one closest to the balcony. On this night, however, Dawn had the entire bed to herself since Piplup had managed to roll itself off and down onto the floor where it simply continued its slumber on the room's carpet.

Typically, there wasn't much that would awaken Dawn on any given night. Ash's snoring had proven to be a nuisance when she first started traveling with the boys, but it was something she became accustomed to over time. Tonight, though, an out-of-place element would enter the room in the form of a cool breeze. There shouldn't have been such a thing inside with the doors to the balcony closed, so when the breeze carried over to Dawn's bed and brushed against her exposed hand, the resulting feeling was enough to coerce her eyes open. "Mmm?"

Not sure why she had awakened, Dawn rolled over to her other side, her only intent that of going back to sleep. But, as she noticed someone sitting at the edge of her bed and a pair of blue eyes looking down upon her, those plans changed.

Dawn, her eyes shooting open, gasped with surprise. Hoping to keep the young girl quiet, the visitor placed a finger over her lips and lightly shushed her before she could make any further noise. Dawn had the time to get a better look at who was sitting beside her now, and, as that person's identity became clear to her, she found that she had nothing to worry about. The individual who had entered the room was the one and only Pokemon Hunter J, the entire front side of her body basked in the moonlight coming in from the glass on the balcony doors.

After having let out that gasp just now, Dawn quickly placed her own hands over her mouth, worried that she may have inadvertently awakened her friends. She peeked over at the other bed, carefully checking for any sign of movement.

"Don't worry, they're still out," J softly spoke. "I'm amazed you can sleep with the mouthy one snoring like that."

"J...what are you doing here?" Dawn asked her in an equally low tone, still trying to shake off the cobwebs from her slumber. "And while we're at it, how did you know which room I was in?"

"From the tracking device in the headset I gave you," J casually pointed out, not seeming to care whether that little detail was kept a secret or not.

Dawn wondered why she hadn't suspected such a thing about the headset sooner. "_That...answers a lot, actually,_" she thought. Now she understood how J had known that she was at a Pokemon Center back when she first received what turned out to be the invitation to go to Balladia Garden.

"And as for why I'm here, I just wanted to see you in person before your big match tomorrow," J explained. "That, and because it seemed like you wanted to tell me something earlier."

Recalling their conversation of a few hours prior, Dawn started to blush as she realized what J was talking about.

"May I ask what it was?" J directed a sly smile her way.

Trying to hide her embarrassment, Dawn averted her eyes from the woman. "Oh, that? Well...umm..."

"Go ahead. Whatever it is, I won't be upset," J assured her.

"No, it's not like that. It's just..." Dawn paused momentarily. She shyly pulled her blanket up to cover the lower part of her face. "I was going to say that I...missed seeing you."

Those words went straight to J's heart. She opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out as, for a rare moment, she found herself speechless. When in her life had anyone ever told her that they'd missed her? Try as she might, she couldn't think of a single instance before now. This had to be the first time she'd ever heard something like that come out of someone's mouth. It was...a nice thing to hear. It truly was.

Once she had given everything a moment to sink in, J reached forward and gently brushed the hair away from Dawn's face, showing the girl perhaps the warmest expression she had ever unveiled to anyone in her turbulent life. "I missed seeing you, too."

"R-really?"

"More than you'll ever know."

Knowing that J had missed her, too, left Dawn feeling positively blissful inside.

The content look on J's face would quickly fade, though. She didn't look upset, but rather as if she had something on her mind. "Dawn," she addressed the girl, sounding uncharacteristically apprehensive, "...do you remember when you asked about my past as we were leaving Balladia Garden?"

Of course, Dawn remembered. There was no way she could forget. "Yeah, I remember," she said. "You got kind of mad and told me you didn't want to talk about it."

J slowly turned toward the balcony doors and leaned back, placing both of her palms against the mattress to keep herself propped up. "It isn't a pleasant story," she offered a warning before speaking any further. "Do you still want to hear it?"

Dawn could tell from the tone of her voice just how serious J was about this. She had said before that she would listen if J ever wanted to talk about it, and this appeared to be that time. Thus, Dawn sat up in her bed and gave the woman her answer. "Only if you're ready to tell me, J."

Though she would have to delve into some memories she wasn't fond of, J finally felt willing to let Dawn in on her tale. "I was...very young when my parents passed away," she began on a somber note. "After that happened, all I had left was Bagon, and all it had was me. Everything we knew in Veilstone City...we had to leave it all behind. All of it."

"So...where did you go?" Dawn asked her.

"I was sent to live with an aunt and uncle of mine in a nearby town," J answered. A bitter look came over her. "If I'd known how they were, I never would have gone there to begin with. They were snobbish people who looked down on me and treated me like a burden from the moment I arrived there, and that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part...was that they wouldn't allow any Pokemon into their home."

"What? So, Bagon..."

"I kept Bagon there without them knowing for as long as I could. They eventually found out, though, and demanded I get rid of it. But, I wasn't about to abandon it like that. Bagon was more important to me than anything those awful people could ever offer. So, even though I had no place else to go, I took Bagon, walked out of that house and never looked back."

Dawn was amazed to hear of J going to such an extreme to actually help a Pokemon. It was a complete contradiction to the attitude the woman presently carried with her as a Pokemon hunter.

"Of course, I had no idea what kind of situation I'd gotten us into," J went on, pain evident in her eyes as thoughts of the past came back to her. "We struggled horribly on our own, feeding off of food scraps or stealing to fill our stomachs during the day, then sleeping out in the cold at night. It was a hell no little girl should ever have to endure, but we somehow survived it. Then, one day, an old man with an affinity for making glass sculptures saw us and took us into his home out of pity."

"Glass sculptures?" Dawn blinked. She had a feeling that she remembered part of a story that went something like this. "Oh, then he was..."

J lightly nodded her head. "That's right, the creator of Balladia Garden," she confirmed. "He was always busy working on something. Bagon and I had nothing better to do, so we would sit and watch, listening to him ramble on about this and that. He would make occasional trips out to the site where the garden was being built to deliver more of his completed work, and that was how I got to see it for the first time. We were taken care of by that old man, and I'm sure he didn't mind us being there, but...after a while, I began feeling guilty and didn't want Bagon and myself to be a nuisance to him. So, we left and went off on our own again. It was only about a week later that _it_ happened. Bagon and I were wandering through a forest, just trying to find some berries to eat, when we ran into a pair of Pokemon poachers."

"Poachers? You still have Salamence, though, so they must not have taken Bagon from you, right?" Dawn inquired.

"Oh, they tried, but Bagon defeated both of their Pokemon by itself," J replied, managing a smile. Whether then or now, she always felt pride in how strong her Pokemon were. "After the battle was over, they could see how tired and malnourished I was, so they took advantage of it. They asked me to use Bagon to help them catch a wild Pokemon in exchange for some of their rations. We needed the food, so I agreed to it. Bagon and I took down a Chimchar the poachers were after, and in the end they asked me to help them with more jobs. Of course, I accepted the offer. Who in my position would ever turn down regular meals and a warm place to sleep? Well, I suppose we had that at the old man's place, too, but now we were actually earning what we got."

Dawn was starting to understand just how J had grown into her profession. Back when the woman had claimed that she did what she did for her very survival, she wasn't kidding.

"I ended up staying with those poachers until I was your age," J continued. "Bagon evolved into Shelgon, and then into Salamence. At that point, I'd become good enough at the job that I had gained a reputation, and I was recruited by a larger ring of poachers offering me higher-paying jobs. By the time I'd reached my teenage years, my skills and reputation were enough that I didn't need to work for others any longer. I took some of the other poachers that were loyal to me and formed my own crew where I was the boss. The rest...you can probably put together without me saying. That's all there is to it. Now you know."

Her story at an end, J waited for some sort of response from Dawn. She'd never mentioned any of these things to anyone before, so she had no idea what to expect. At first, all she got was silence from the girl. Then, she began to feel the weight shifting on the mattress. Dawn was moving, but with what purpose? J wouldn't have to wonder for long. Soon enough, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her shoulders from behind. She could feel the warmth of Dawn's body against her back, the softness of Dawn's hair falling over her neck, and the heat of the girl's breath against her cheek.

"You were right...when you said I was naive," Dawn spoke, her voice filled with remorse. "I had no idea things were so rough for you. I'm so sorry, J."

Closing her eyes as she savored the heartfelt embrace, J reached up and placed her hand over Dawn's. "Back then, I never thought about right and wrong. I was just trying to survive and take care of Salamence, but capturing and selling Pokemon ended up becoming my life. It was all I cared about for the longest time."

Suddenly, without warning, J broke free of Dawn's grasp and gave her a gentle push, catching the girl by surprise. As Dawn fell back to the mattress, J moved over top of her, staring down into the young coordinator's uncertain eyes with a look of pure adoration.

"It was all I cared about...until I met you," J told the girl, cupping Dawn's cheek with one hand. "You've changed me, Dawn. For the first time in my life, you've made me desire...something more."

As she lay flat on her back, Dawn noticed that J's face was slowly coming closer to her own. "_W-wait...is she...?_" Dawn thought to herself, her heart starting to race. Though she'd never experienced it before, she felt fairly certain that J's actions right now could only be leading to one thing. "_She's...she's going to kiss me! Wh-wh-wh-what should I do?_"

All at once, Dawn's conflicting feelings began waging war with one another. While part of her wanted to just close her eyes and accept what was to come, another part reminded her of all of the Pokemon that had suffered at the hands of the notorious criminal over the years. J had explained the circumstances under which she fell into that path in life, but did that make all of it acceptable?

J was lowering herself closer and closer. Dawn had no choice but to make a decision that would inevitably affect the future of her relationship with the woman...and so she did.

*_Smack!_*

J batted her eyes several times, clearly confused as she looked down upon the girl. Dawn had slapped both of her hands over J's lips to stop her from doing what she'd intended.

"I can't!" Dawn told her, almost at the point of tears. "I just...can't."

After witnessing Dawn's emotional reaction, J gradually backed away from her. In truth, she wasn't especially surprised by what Dawn had done. Disappointed, but understanding, she moved back to the edge of the bed where she sat quietly for a moment before speaking. "It's fine," she said, though her expression suggested otherwise. "What I've done to Pokemon throughout my life isn't something a kindhearted person like you can easily forgive. I get that."

Seeing how dejected J now appeared made all of this that much more difficult for Dawn. "I'm sorry, J," she apologized.

"There's no need to be," J was quick to try to put the girl's mind at ease. An idea coming to mind, she reached up to her left ear and began fiddling with something. Then, grasping an object in her hand, she held her arm out toward Dawn. "Here."

Dawn turned her palm upward and felt something small drop into it. That something was the lone silver earring J had been wearing. "An earring?" she blinked. "What's this for?"

"I'd like you to hold onto that during your match tomorrow," J urged her. "Think of it as a reminder."

"A...reminder? Of what?"

"That I believe in you."

Despite the uncomfortable turn her conversation with J had taken, hearing those reassuring words brought a smile back to Dawn's face. "Thank you. I'll definitely hold onto it," she said, clasping the earring in her hand.

With that, J had done everything she'd set out to do tonight, and so she pushed herself up off the bed and to her feet. "I'll be going, then. You should get some sleep," she suggested, stepping toward the balcony doors.

"Yeah, I know," Dawn told her. "See you tomorrow, J. I'll be sure to look for you in the crowd."

J pushed open the door and placed one foot out on the balcony. After that first step, however, she abruptly came to a stop.

"J? What is it?" Dawn asked, not sure why the woman was hesitating.

There was something more J wanted to get off of her chest, but, in the end, she stopped herself from doing so. Instead, she simply looked back over her shoulder and offered the girl some brief, parting words. "Nothing. Sleep well, Dawn."

The Pokemon hunter closed the door behind her before leaping over the balcony's railing, where Salamence was waiting below to fly her back to their base.

After J had gone, Dawn, still sitting up in bed, took the hand containing the earring she'd been given and held it close to her heart. "J..."

*_rustle rustle_*

The sound of a blanket drawing her attention all of a sudden, Dawn whisked her head around to look back toward the other bed in the room. What she saw at that moment took all of her excitement over tomorrow's big match, and, in an instant, replaced it with fear over what might yet happen tonight.

With Ash's snoring still rumbling in the background, an awake and alert Brock pulled away his sheets and took a seat at the edge of his bed. After taking some time to think to himself, he finally looked up at his friend, an unusually serious expression on his face. "Dawn, we need to talk."

* * *

It was nearly two o' clock in the morning by the time J arrived back at her base. She knew such a late return was unavoidable if she were to fly all the way out to Lake Valor to see Dawn, but something as minor as that wasn't about to stop her from making the trip. Not everything had gone as she'd hoped this time around, but, at the very least, she was able to see just where the relationship between herself and Dawn stood.

Once they had landed next to the base's entrance, J put Salamence back into its pokeball and walked up to the blast doors. Seconds later, the doors were opened by someone within. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary about it. Somehow, though, J felt something was out of place. Having put her headset on earlier to navigate her way back after leaving Lake Valor, she reactivated it and did a thermal scan on the surrounding area. Aside from some of the usual wild Pokemon, however, there were no abnormal heat signatures to speak of.

J still felt tense for some reason, but there didn't appear to be anything to be concerned about. After switching her headset off again, she proceeded to enter the base. She started down the flight of stairs that led further inside, listening as the blast doors at the entrance closed behind her. Another door that allowed access to one of the bunker's main corridors waited at the bottom. Just as she had always done, J punched in the code to open it and headed inside.

That was when something unexpected happened. After J had walked past the door, it slammed shut behind her, emitting a beeping noise indicating that it had been locked. A small, red light on the door's control panel confirmed that it was no longer useable. Someone had sealed it from within the base's control center.

The sound of numerous footsteps quickly filled the corridor. Looking to her left, then to her right, J watched as a combined force of two dozen police officers and Pokemon Rangers closed in on her from both sides and formed lines that spanned the corridor's entire width. On one side was Officer Jenny. On the other was Pokemon Ranger Solana. Each was joined on their respective squads by two Rangers and nine officers, all with battle-ready Pokemon at their sides.

Their trap now sprung, Officer Jenny, along with her Arcanine, stepped forward. "Pokemon Hunter J, there is nowhere for you to run! You are under arrest for the crime of Pokemon poaching!"

* * *

**End of Chapter 8**


	9. Impossible Odds: Part I

_**Capture the Heart**_**  
by rkOujirou**

Author's note: This story is a continuation based on the Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl anime, starting from after the episode "The Battle Finale of Legend!".

Disclaimer: Pokemon is not my idea and I don't own it or any of the characters, obviously.

* * *

**Chapter 9**

In the very early morning hours of what promised to be the biggest day of her life, Dawn sat down at the small table on the balcony of her hotel room. Following right behind her, Brock shut the balcony door in a gentle manner, hoping not to disturb the still sleeping Ash, Pikachu and Piplup. Dawn had brought a blanket from inside and wrapped it around herself to keep warm, but it did little to ease the discomfort she was feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Pokemon Hunter J's late night visit was a surprise to Dawn, and a pleasant one at that. In hindsight, however, it was also incredibly risky for the two of them to converse in the same room where the boys were sleeping. Brock's insistence that he and Dawn speak mere moments after J had departed left little doubt that Dawn's secret had been uncovered. How much had Brock heard? How much had he been able to figure out? Dawn wasn't eager to learn the answers to those questions, but she was about to do so.

Brock leaned back against the balcony railing, facing Dawn, and folded his arms over his chest. Dawn couldn't bring herself to look at him. She felt like a six-year-old again, like she was about to be scolded for doing something wrong. What must Brock be thinking of her right now, she wondered? Was he disgusted with her? Ashamed to be her friend? Would he tell Ash as soon as he woke up? Would they leave her here and continue their journey through Sinnoh without her?

"I heard everything," Brock finally spoke.

That was not what Dawn wanted to hear. The more Brock knew, the more Dawn's chances of talking her way out of this situation declined. She was fidgeting restlessly beneath her blanket, worried sick about what her friend might say next.

"To be honest, I've had a feeling something might have been going on ever since J helped get our Pokemon back from Team Rocket that one day," Brock stared down at the anxious coordinator. "She did it for _you_, didn't she?"

Considering that to be a factual statement, and one that she would have little luck denying, Dawn meekly nodded her head in response.

"And those flowers you got after your opening round performance," Brock continued, "...they were from her, weren't they?"

Dawn silently nodded once again.

Although he'd suspected that these things were true for some time, seeing Dawn confirm them was a real stunner for Brock. The aspiring Pokemon breeder reached up and began rubbing his forehead as he processed all of this. "I sort of knew, but still...this is tough to swallow," he admitted. "Dawn, you do realize who Pokemon Hunter J is and what she does, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Dawn snapped back at him emotionally, her expression troubled as she looked blankly at the balcony floor. "I know it as well as anyone, Brock. That's why this has been so confusing for me. Just now...she was...she was going to kiss me. And I...I really wanted her to, but then I started thinking back to that time when we were trying to save those Shieldon from her. When I remembered seeing her freeze that one poor Shieldon...that's what made me stop her just now. I just couldn't get it out of my head."

Dawn wiped a tear from her eye, a telltale sign that her dilemma was really starting to get to her. "Try to understand, Brock," she pleaded with her friend. "This has been really hard for me. I just...I don't know what I should do."

Brock remained quiet for a moment, both to mull over Dawn's words and to give her a chance to pull herself together. There were any number of questions he would have liked to ask her, but one in particular stood at the forefront of his mind. It was something he needed to know in order to decide how he should handle this whole situation.

"Do you love her?" he asked.

The answer was one that Dawn knew now. She'd gone through all sorts of grief just trying to admit it to herself recently. Admitting it to someone else was an entirely different trial, though. Once she uttered a reply, it couldn't be taken back so easily. It was a true point of no return.

Dawn slowly raised her head and looked Brock in the eye for the first time since their tense conversation began. She didn't know how he would react. She didn't know what effect it might have on her relationship with her friends or her life in general. Even so, there was only one answer for Dawn, and she gave it. Three letters, two simple words.

"I do."

Having gotten the answer he wanted, Brock seemed to be deep in thought as he glanced up at the crescent moon shining high in the night sky. "Love can be a funny thing sometimes," he said.

Dawn was relieved to see that Brock didn't appear to be upset, but she was still concerned about what the future held. "I never wanted you guys to know. I didn't even want to imagine what you'd think of me if you knew," she told Brock. "So...now that you know, what are you going to do?"

"Nothing."

"N-...nothing?"

Brock shook his head. "Nobody has the right to tell you who you can or can't love, and that includes me," he said to Dawn. "I won't tell Ash or anyone else if you want to keep it a secret."

"You won't? Really?" Dawn's eyes were starting to tear up once more.

"Of course not. I'm your friend, Dawn," Brock told her. "All I'm worried about is your safety. J has a history of being dangerous, you know? If you trust her then that's fine, but I want you to promise me you'll be careful."

The supportive reaction from Brock made Dawn feel awful for expecting worse from him. She should have known better, she thought. Her friends always had her back from the moment they began traveling with one another. Even now, that hadn't changed.

"Thank you so much, Brock," Dawn smiled, drying her eyes again. "You don't need to worry about me. I'll be careful. Promise."

Pushing himself away from the railing, Brock returned his friend's smile. "That's good enough for me," he said. "I'm heading back to bed. You should do the same."

"I will. Goodnight, Brock."

"'Night, Dawn."

Figuring Dawn needed a minute to herself, Brock closed the door behind him after he went back into the room. He could still hardly believe what he'd learned about Dawn and J, but, as he'd said earlier, love was a funny thing.

Out on the balcony, Dawn took a deep breath and snuggled up in her blanket. "_I'm really lucky to have such an understanding friend,_" she thought to herself. "_Right now, I need to put all of my focus on the battle with Zoey tomorrow. Once that's over..."_

The young girl peered out toward the sky where J and Salamence had flown off to not long ago.

"_We'll figure it out, J. I know we will._"

Dawn was able to sleep better that night with the knowledge that Brock not only knew about her relationship with J, but also was accepting of it. Unbeknownst to Dawn, however, was the predicament that a certain Pokemon hunter would find herself in mere hours later.

* * *

Within the confines of her base, the last remaining safe haven after her ship had been destroyed, Pokemon Hunter J stood surrounded by a team of police officers and Pokemon Rangers. Whether she was calmly thinking of her best plan of action or just stunned by what was taking place, J stayed remarkably still, running her eyes by each and every being around her.

The Rangers and officers numbered 24 in all. Counting their Pokemon, they were 48-strong. Aside from Officer Jenny with her Arcanine, each of 18 other officers had with them either a Growlithe or a Stunky.

The five Pokemon Rangers in the group, including Solana, were using Pokemon that J recognized as pieces of her inventory that had been stored inside the base. They included a Mothim, an Absol, a Tangrowth, a Weavile, and, most notably, a massive Rhyperior that towered behind Solana and had a particularly ferocious glare turned on J. It was the work of the Rangers' Capture Stylers that had brought the Pokemon under their command. The rest of her inventory, J figured, had probably been set free into the wild or taken under police care to see if they had a previous owner.

"This is the end for you, J," Officer Jenny said, grabbing the silver-haired hunter's attention. "I'll ask you to make this easy on yourself and come with us peacefully. I'm sure you can see there is no way out of this."

The other officers were surprised by just how relaxed J appeared under such pressure. Though it may have been a ploy to rile Jenny up, J looked as though she were ignoring the female officer.

"Hey! Did you hear me?" Jenny addressed J again, this time with more vigor.

Still brushing off the female officer, J turned her head and shot an icy look at her crew's imposter recruit, Solana, who was still wearing the uniform the Pokemon hunter had provided her.

If the experienced Pokemon Ranger was intimidated by J, she certainly wasn't showing it. "I'm sure you've already figured out what happened," Solana addressed her. "You got careless in your recruiting process, J. The rest of your crew is already in custody. You've got no one here to help you."

Even when staring down the one responsible for this invasion of her base, J remained quiet. She was giving the collection of Rangers and officers no help in figuring out what was going through her head right now.

J's silence was starting to get to Officer Jenny, who took out a pair of handcuffs that had been attached to her waist. "I'd suggest you listen to me, J, because I'm only going to give you one chance to surrender without getting physical. You have until the count of five to put both hands behind your back, starting now. One..."

With Jenny about to make her move, the others all readied themselves to back her up if J decided to resist.

"...two..."

J still wasn't budging, nor had she made so much as a peep.

"...three..."

Solana, much like everyone else, was anxious to know what J was planning. They all knew what the notorious woman was capable of. Regardless, they were going to apprehend J at the count of five, even if they had to do it the hard way.

"...four-"

"I understand," J finally spoke, "...I'll surrender." Her action was one that both surprised her captors and left them with a great sense of relief. Some even felt strangely disappointed by it.

Even as they watched J place her hands behind her back, it was still hard for the officers and Rangers to believe. Considering who J was, they were expecting much more resistance. Thankfully for them, it seemed as though J was aware of her limitations being outnumbered as heavily as she was.

"That's a wise decision," Jenny commended the Pokemon hunter's choice. "I'm going to cuff your hands. Hold still."

For Solana, this moment felt surreal. They were really capturing Pokemon Hunter J, one of the most wanted criminals in the entire region of Sinnoh, and they were going to do it without even a fight. It had all come together so easily...too easily. Something didn't feel right.

While Jenny approached J with her cuffs in hand, Solana kept a close eye on the dangerous woman. That was when she saw it. Using her left hand, J was tinkering with something just inside the right sleeve of her coat.

"Jenny, grab her!" Solana shouted.

The warning came too late. J yanked an object out of her sleeve and threw it down against the floor. It exploded into a bright flash of light the instant it hit the ground, temporarily blinding everyone nearby.

"It's a flash bomb!" Jenny yelled, she, much like the rest of her officers, trying to shield her eyes with her arms.

The duration of the flash was very short, and thus J knew she couldn't afford to waste even a millisecond if she wanted to give herself a fighting chance. First and foremost, she needed an escape route. That meant making sure she was no longer surrounded.

Well aware that the Rhyperior behind Solana was blocking much of the space on that side of the corridor, J turned to the side captained by Officer Jenny and launched her body into the air with a backflip. The eyes of J were still closed to avoid the effects of the bomb as she soared over the row of officers and Rangers with a grace comparable to a gymnast and safely cleared all of them. J's heels clacked against the hard floor just as the flash began to dissipate, leaving her precious little time to take advantage of the confusion and execute an attack.

Officer Jenny, Solana and the rest of their team hurried to try to open their eyes again. They couldn't open them completely just yet, but they could see well enough to know that J was no longer trapped between their two squads.

"Where is she?" Jenny quickly began looking around.

From Solana's vantage point, she soon picked up on their target now standing on the other side of the female officer. "There! Behind you!" she pointed.

Having grabbed one of her pokeballs before she touched back down on the ground, J now had her Ariados out in front of her. She was going to see how much she could slow down her pursuers.

"Ariados, String Shot!"

A mass of white thread burst out from Ariados' mouth, bearing down upon Officer Jenny and her comrades. The bug-type Pokemon was almost exclusively used by J for the purpose of incapacitating those who would interfere in her crew's jobs. If the targets were unprepared, the move was always an effective tactic. But as J would find out, Jenny had provided the other officers in this mission with some very useful training. The moment the Pokemon hunter commanded Ariados to use its String Shot, the four officers on Jenny's squad that had Growlithe with them retaliated.

"Growlithe, Flamethrower!" the officers all commanded.

The combined flames of the four Growlithe overwhelmed Ariados' String Shot before the threads could subdue them. J knew at that moment that her plan was a failure. With not only greater force, but also a type advantage, the flames burned through the white threads as if they weren't even there and struck Ariados head-on.

"Ariaa!" Ariados cried, being pushed backward from the attacks.

There was no point in keeping Ariados out there any longer. J needed to put it back into its pokeball and retreat.

"Ariados, ret-!"

Before J got the chance to call back her Pokemon, Officer Jenny's Arcanine, surrounded in a red light, bolted out from the scorching flames and slammed into Ariados with a devastating Flare Blitz attack. The impact sent Ariados's body sailing right into its master.

"Ugh!" J groaned. She hit the floor back-first with Ariados landing on top of her. Both of them would roll over the ground a few times before finally coming to a stop.

Gritting her teeth as she tried to shake off the bump, J glanced up to check on the condition of her Pokemon. Ariados lay face-up on its back, unmoving. After the succession of fire-type attacks it had taken, Ariados was no longer in any condition to battle. The grim reality of J's situation now set in. She was already down to two Pokemon without having decreased the enemy numbers at all.

Officer Jenny was brimming with pride at the quick reactions of her fellow officers, but the time for praising them would have to wait. Right now, there was a criminal that needed to be restrained.

"Arcanine, pin J down so she can't escape!" Jenny called out to her partner.

Arcanine did just as it was asked, closing in swiftly on the fallen Pokemon hunter as Jenny and the others did likewise.

Out of desperation, J grabbed another pokeball from her waist and tossed it out in front of her. "Drapion, use Cross Poison!"

Unlike Ariados, Drapion's primary use _was_ to battle other Pokemon, and it was ready to do just that the moment it appeared. With Arcanine shortening the distance between them, Drapion's claws glowed a bright purple color as it prepared to unleash its Cross Poison attack on the fire-type Pokemon.

Now that J had her second Pokemon protecting her, Jenny made an adjustment to her previous order. "Arcanine, use Fire Fang on Drapion!"

Flames began stirring around inside the mouth of Arcanine in preparation for using Fire Fang, an attack that could only be performed from a very short distance. In order for it to land, Arcanine would first have to break through Drapion's Cross Poison attack.

Both Pokemon readied themselves for contact. Once Arcanine was close enough, Drapion swung its claws in a cross pattern in front of its body, delivering its Cross Poison directly into the charging enemy. Arcanine tried to push through it and use Fire Fang, but the force of the attack was simply too much. Drapion knocked Arcanine back with enough power that Arcanine flipped a full 360 degrees in the air before hitting the floor. Arcanine skidded to a halt on its paws, but then fell to three legs as the fourth one had become numb from Drapion's attack.

"Arcanine, are you okay?" Jenny asked as she and the others approached it.

Having created an opening for herself, J wasn't about to let this opportunity pass. She hurried to her feet and picked up both pokeballs she'd used. "Ariados, Drapion, return!" she yelled. J took off running down the corridor even before her Pokemon were back in their respective pokeballs.

"After her!" Officer Jenny ordered the others. Starting to get the feeling back in its leg, Arcanine led the pursuit of J at the front of the group.

The chase was on as J moved toward the north end of the corridor. The path took a sharp left once it reached the end, which she followed without hesitation.

"Come on! We can't lose sight of her!" Solana urged the group.

Once the officers and Rangers reached the turn, they abruptly came to a complete stop. Arcanine and the others at the front of the pack had found that they were now in a complicated spot.

"Hey, what's going on?" Solana pushed ahead from the back for a better view. As she would see, the path ahead was now littered with small, black objects covered in spikes. "What are those things?"

"I don't know...but it's not worth the risk to find out," Jenny said. "Darn that J. She's clever. Everyone, we've trained for this! Head back and use another path. We'll split up and take her down!"

"Right!" the others replied in unison.

While 20 members of the group ran back to continue pursuit of J, Jenny looked toward Solana and two police officers that remained beside her. "Solana, you know what to do."

Solana nodded her head in acknowledgment. "We'll head back to the control center and use the cameras to find her. I'll let you know her location a.s.a.p."

Elsewhere within the base, J was rushing through the halls as fast as she'd ever run. Getting herself out of the earlier predicament and separating herself from her pursuers was a huge victory. The fact that she was in a dire situation hadn't changed though. She knew the time she'd bought herself was very limited.

"Against numbers like that, I'll need to use Drapion and Salamence sparingly. That means I'll have to take some of them down myself," J thought aloud.

The Pokemon hunter continued down a stretch of corridor and then took a sharp right. Getting closer to the hangar area where her ship was once stored, J passed two doors, one on each side of the hall, before finally sliding to a halt in front of a room on her left. A sign to the side of the door read, "WEAPON STORAGE".

J went for the control panel and punched in the 7-digit code to gain access to the room. Normally, a green light would flash to show that access had been granted and the door would then slide open, but such wasn't the case after the code had been entered this time around. Instead, a red light flashed and twice emitted a beeping noise, indicating that the code had not been accepted.

"What?" J scowled at the device. She entered the code again, but the result was the same. Furious, J slammed her fist into the control panel. "Damn! They changed the access codes!"

The next choice J had to make wasn't a difficult one. She needed some extra artillery and salvaging her base was already a lost cause given that the authorities knew where it was. Tearing it up a little now wouldn't matter one bit.

J took out one of the pokeballs she'd used earlier. "Drapion, break this door down!"

The large, physically imposing Pokemon let out a fierce growl as it appeared for the second time and went to work smashing its claws into the steel door. Drapion was relentless. With every strike, the sound of steel bending resonated throughout the corridors. It wasn't a quick process, but the growing dents in the door showed it was working.

Then J began to hear something else over the racket Drapion was making. It was the sound of heavy footsteps drawing closer, followed by voices.

"_It's coming from over here!_"

"_Hurry!_"

"Tch!" the Pokemon hunter spat. She set her sights on the intersection of another corridor with the one she was presently in. It was roughly 15 feet to the right of the storage area's door. "Drapion, that's enough! We have company."

Drapion complied, turning its attention to the impending threat its master was waiting for. Seconds later, the "company" arrived. Three of Jenny's subordinate officers appeared from out of the other corridor. Two of them, one male and one female, each had a Stunky. The other, another male, had a Growlithe. The instant they laid eyes on Pokemon Hunter J, the three went into battle mode.

"Stunky, use Screech!" both of the Stunky users commanded.

J and Drapion cringed as the piercing sound of the Screech attacks assaulted their ears. This unit of officers clearly had a battle strategy in place before their mission had begun. Ready to do its part, Growlithe charged out from behind the Stunky duo and blazed a path for Drapion.

"Growlithe, Take Down!" the third officer called out.

Just as the Screech attacks dissipated, Growlithe slammed the weight of its body head-first into Drapion's face. The larger Pokemon's head reeled back from the impact.

J, knowing Drapion's toughness, jumped at the chance to counter. "Drapion, Poison Fang!"

Growlithe was still hanging in the air from its own attack when Drapion reached out and snatched it in its claws. When Drapion brought its head back down, there was a purple glow to its fangs. The glow traveled down Drapion's lengthy arms and finally to its claws. Growlithe tried to shake itself free, but to no avail. The blast of energy from the Poison Fang attack sent Growlithe tumbling back to the feet of the officers.

By that time, the two Stunky were already on Drapion. They both landed Slash attacks on the torso of J's preoccupied Pokemon, drawing a growl of pain from it.

While the Stunky backed out of range of Drapion's claws, J prepared another command. "Pin Missile! Now!"

"Smoke Screen!" the Stunky users both shouted.

Drapion's claws glowed a bright white color as the corridor filled with black smoke from the two Stunky. That glow then turned into a barrage of pins that shot out from the claws toward the officers' Pokemon. The pins swarmed through the thick smoke. It wasn't clear what was going on, but an impact followed by a pained shriek were soon heard from within the cloud. One Stunky rolled out the other end of the smoke and collapsed by the officers, unable to go on.

Still untouched, the other Stunky appeared from out of the smoke and closed in on Drapion again. Growlithe, injured but not out yet, joined it a moment later.

"Stunky, use Slash!"

"Growlithe, Take Down! One more time!"

Once J saw the Pokemon leap into the air, she knew she had them beat. "Drapion, grab them!"

With impressive precision, the bug-and-dark-type Pokemon wrapped one claw around the speedy Stunky and the other around Growlithe. The size mismatch played into its favor perfectly.

"Now, Cross Poison!" J commanded.

Drapion tossed both of its opponents into the air as if they were rag dolls. Its claws glowing a bright purple as they had against Arcanine earlier, Drapion unleashed its Cross Poison attack. The X-shaped blast caught both Stunky and Growlithe in midair. As the last of the Smoke Screen faded, the two Pokemon crashed to the floor next to the officers. Just like the other Stunky, their battle was over.

Their Pokemon defeated, the three officers returned them to their pokeballs and stared ahead at J and Drapion.

"We can't let her get away," the female officer said.

"I agree," one of the men chimed in. "Let's go!"

The officers brashly charged forth to apprehend J. The Pokemon hunter wasn't about to waste her own energy on them, though. If they were foolish enough to come at her without Pokemon, she was going to teach them a lesson about using proper judgment.

"Drapion, Pin Missile!"

There was no hint of remorse in either J or Drapion as the large Pokemon unleashed a barrage of pins on the overzealous officers. They were struck hard and repeatedly in their arms and legs, each taking at least two hits to the stomach and chest as well. The officers fell to the floor winded and riddled with pain. J considered knocking them out completely, but she would come to the conclusion that it was pointless. With their injuries, they clearly wouldn't be a threat to her any longer.

"Drapion, back to the door! We need to hurry before others arrive!" J commanded.

The assault on the storage room's door resumed. Drapion continually wailed on the steel showing little sign of weariness from its previous battle. The already bent metal began to split. A small hole soon opened up and was promptly targeted by the Pokemon's claws. Once the hole was wide enough, Drapion placed its claws around the edges and began prying the two sides of the door apart. It opened by a few centimeters. Centimeters became inches. And then, with enough coercion, the door's two sides were forced open completely.

"Well done," J put Drapion back into its pokeball and flipped on the lights in the storage area. The time had come for a little scavenging.

* * *

Officer Jenny was rushing through the base's corridors with three of her fellow officers at her side when the faint sounds of a battle reached her ears.

"Sounds like one of the other units found her," a male officer said.

"Sure does. I can't tell where it's coming from, though," another of the men replied.

Jenny said nothing. After hearing the noise, she was concentrating deeply to listen and try to figure out which direction she should head.

*_beep beep beep beep! beep beep beep beep!_*

Jenny blinked as the communicator on her wrist suddenly began going off, snapping her focus. She raised the device up by her mouth. "This is Jenny. Go ahead."

"Jenny, this is Solana," the Pokemon Ranger addressed her from the control center. "We've spotted J. She's in the weapon storage room near the hangar on the far west side of the base."

That was all Jenny needed to hear. "I'm on my way!" she declared. She closed the connection in a hurry.

Inside the control center, Solana and the two officers with her continued monitoring the location where three other officers were now laid out on the floor. Another camera showed J rummaging through weapons in the room she'd just forced her way into.

"Looks like we're in for a fight," Solana sighed in displeasure. Behind her, the Rhyperior she was temporarily using began snarling at the screen with J on it. Maybe J had stolen it from its owner. Maybe it was wild and she'd taken it from its home. Either way, Solana didn't doubt that Rhyperior had a good reason to dislike the woman. She just hoped it would be able to control its temper if a time came when she needed it for battle.

* * *

Back near the hangar, the three officers who had already been defeated were still down on the ground when another unit passed by and spotted them.

"Hey! Are you okay?" one of them called out.

The group of six officers, three with Stunky and three with Growlithe, approached their fallen comrades to check on them.

"Talk to me!" one of the male officers tried helping the female officer that J had battled earlier to sit up. "Hey, what happened? Where is J?"

Still grimacing in pain from the Pin Missile attack, the woman raised her arm and shakily pointed toward the entrance to the storage room. "In there...she's in there."

The male officer looked toward the doorway, as did the others in his unit. They could lie in wait and ambush J when she came out if they so chose. They could also go in after her and fight the Pokemon hunter in close quarters. It looked like a quick decision would need to be made...until J beat them to the punch.

The officers were caught unprepared as J flew through the doorway with a white, plastic sphere the size of a volleyball tucked under one arm. Her eyes locked on her targets, J let go of the object and kicked it in the direction of her pursuers. The sphere now had a sizable dent in it.

"Get down!" one of the officers shouted. He didn't know what the plastic ball would do, but it couldn't be anything good.

J planted her feet against the floor and hastily dove back into the storage area for cover. Then it happened. The white sphere exploded into a mess of pink-colored liquid adhesive that covered nearly everything within 12 feet of the blast. The officers that had just arrived and their Pokemon, as well as the others beaten before, were all covered in the tenacious substance.

Try as they might, the unit could not free themselves. They were pinned to the ground with no way of fighting back.

"I...I can't move!" one of them complained. That was when he saw J, unharmed, leave the storage room again and take off running down the hallway. She had with her another one of the liquid adhesive weapons, as well as a large gun of some sort and who knew what else that couldn't be seen. "J! Come back here!"

Naturally, the Pokemon hunter paid him no mind. On her way out, J tossed a tiny ball of clay-like material at a security camera on the upper part of the wall. The substance stuck itself to the camera's metal case and two seconds later sparks began to fall from the monitoring device. The camera had been fried. One less view for someone in the control center to use to their advantage. J had a gray-colored pack tied around her waist that was full of these handy little projectiles.

She kept running straight to the west, taking out one more camera along the way. The black gun she carried, stretching out a good three feet, was something only her subordinates had ever had a need to use. She looked forward to proving she was as good a shot with it as anyone else, even with no prior practice. Up ahead, this corridor came to an end, splitting into a left path and a right path. J took the right path, which curved around in a U-shape that would take her to the western edge of the main part of the base.

A long stretch of the western wall was made up of three feet of stone on the bottom and then glass from that point on up to the ceiling. The glass offered passersby an overhead view of a long stairwell going downward that eventually led one to the massive and now mostly empty vehicle hangar. That location wasn't where J was going, but it let her know she was getting closer. She just hoped that her pursuers wouldn't figure out where exactly she was headed before she got there.

Another camera on the east wall was downed by the excess voltage from one of J's clay-like blobs. Now she was coming up on an area where a corridor from the east intersected with the one she was in. No need to pay it any mind. J's destination lay at the southern end of the base, straight ahead.

But as J started to run through the intersection, something caught her eye. A beam of black and purple circles came shooting directly at her from out of that corridor to the east. It was a Dark Pulse attack, and J knew which Pokemon had used it. The beam didn't hit J head-on, instead passing right in front of her. The problem was that she couldn't stop. Her momentum from running was too great, and thus she ran right into the side of the beam. The force knocked her back a good ten feet and caused her to lose the grip on her weapons.

J hit the ground hard. Her gun landed against the east wall, out of her reach. The other ball of liquid adhesive she'd brought was still flying backward through the air. It had taken a hit from the Dark Pulse attack, and it was about to become a humongous problem. J could see the indentation on the plastic sphere from where she lay on the ground. She tried to scamper forward, as far away from the object as possible. Then the adhesive bomb exploded.

"Damn it!" J cursed in frustration.

The sticky, pink substance plastered itself all over the floors, the walls, the glass overlooking the stairwell, everything. One large blob of it ended up half attached to the floor, half attached to Pokemon Hunter J's right leg. Pulled back by the adhesive, J fell to her hands and knees. Trying to pry herself free was a waste of time and energy. She knew that. She would have to free herself another way, but for the time being, she was stuck.

"Great job, Weavile!" a male voice was heard saying.

From out of the eastern corridor, two Pokemon Rangers in low-ranking Ranger uniforms emerged. Both of them were male and they looked identical aside from the color of their hair. One of them had short, spiky hair in a light lavender color, while the other had the same 'do with forest green hair. With them were Weavile and Absol, two Pokemon that J had captured previously with the intent to sell. Two Pokemon that undoubtedly would like a little revenge.

"Well, it looks like you won't be running off any more," the boy with lavender hair mocked the trapped Pokemon hunter. "I'm sure you'd like to know the names of your soon-to-be captors. _We_ are the only pair of twins currently serving in the Pokemon Rangers. My name is Logan!"

"And my name is Evan!" the green-haired Ranger followed up. "Pokemon Hunter J, we'll be taking you back to Officer Jenny now. After we thoroughly subdue you, of course. Absol, hold her down!"

"Weavile, you too!" Logan ordered his temporary Pokemon.

J reached for the pokeballs at her belt in a hurry. "Drapion, Poison Sting!"

For the third time tonight, Drapion made its presence felt, spraying purple darts from its mouth at the pair of approaching Pokemon. Weavile and Absol were fast, though. Absol went left and Weavile veered right, both of them avoiding Drapion's attack. They continued to close in on J's Pokemon.

"Weavile...!"

"Absol...!"

"Night Slash!" the two Rangers called out.

The claws of both Weavile and Absol glowed a dark crimson. Both converged on Drapion at the same time, forming a cross pattern as they delivered their Night Slash attacks to its face. Drapion let out an aggravated howl. It was resistant to dark-type attacks, but taking two at the same time from a pair of strong Pokemon still hurt.

J watched the exchange from well behind where Drapion stood. She would have to divide her attention between the battle and her own troubles. No matter what, she needed to free herself from the adhesive. Otherwise it was game over. She whipped a pocket knife out from her belt, next to where she kept her pokeballs. The red fabric covering her right calf was what the adhesive had a hold of. In that case, the solution was simple: cut the fabric off.

* * *

Once she came upon the weapon storage room, Officer Jenny was amazed at the scene before her. Nine of her fellow officers, along with six of their Pokemon, were covered in a gooey, pink substance and struggling to free themselves. The work had J's touch, no doubt.

The three officers that Jenny brought with her immediately tried helping the others out of the adhesive. Jenny herself was more concerned about a certain criminal as she ran up to the nearest downed officer, careful to avoid stepping in the pink blob. "Tell me, where is J? Which way did she go?" she questioned him. The look in her eyes was intense.

With the one hand of his that wasn't pinned down by the adhesive, the male officer pointed west down the corridor in response. "She went all the way to the end and then she turned right. She's armed now, so please be careful!"

Jenny couldn't even look at where the officer was pointing because of the wall impeding her vision and the goo blocking her path. She knew what direction to head in, though, and that was good enough for her.

"You three, stay here and help them out of this gunk," Jenny ordered the officers that had come with her. "Arcanine and I are going after J!"

* * *

At the western edge of the base, the 2-on-1 battle involving Weavile, Absol, and Drapion raged on. Logan and Evan, the twin Pokemon Rangers, were intent on keeping the pressure on Pokemon Hunter J.

"Weavile, use Icy Wind!"

"Absol, Razor Wind!"

A blast of wind mixed with sparkling blue snow shot out from the mouth of Weavile, while the sickle-shaped growth on the head of Absol glowed a bright white color. Absol flung a crescent of energy from its head toward Drapion, mixing it in with the Icy Wind attack of its partner.

"Drapion, Cross Poison!" J shouted.

Its claws glowing with a purple hue, Drapion fired the X-shaped poison attack at the incoming offensive. All three attacks collided at the midway point between the two forces, the pressure of the impact causing everyone's hair and clothes to shift slightly. The attacks, however, had canceled each other out.

Away from the battle, J was using her pocket knife to rip into her right pant leg. She cut away at the adhesive-affected fabric as fast as she could without accidentally driving the knife into her skin. While it would have been nice, she didn't need her Drapion to defeat Weavile and Absol right now. She only needed it to stall them until she was free.

In a way, J considered herself lucky that these two Pokemon were the ones Drapion was facing. Half of their moves were either dark-type or psychic-type, which Drapion was resistant to or unaffected by respectively. In particular, Absol's Psycho Cut, its most powerful attack, would be useless.

It was time for J to go back on the offensive. "Now, use Pin Missile!"

"Absol, Double Team!" Pokemon Ranger Evan commanded in response.

Starting to glow white, Absol used Double Team to create eight copies of itself. The row of them was long enough that it stretched from one wall of the corridor to the other.

Drapion couldn't focus on just one, else it would likely miss the real Absol completely. It had no choice but to send the Pin Missile attack at all of them, and so it did. The white pins crashed down on the entire row. The copies that had been hit vanished, while the real Absol staggered backward. It had been hit with two of the pins, a painful endeavor, but was in far better shape than if it had taken them all.

And now, just as its attack had ended, Drapion was nearly face-to-face with the speedy Weavile who had taken advantage of Absol's distraction to close the distance.

Pokemon Ranger Logan beamed with confidence at the successful tactics of he and his brother. "Weavile, Fury Swipes!"

Wielding its claws, Weavile slashed away at Drapion's face repeatedly. J's Pokemon let out an agonized groan, but then, out of anger and irritation, grabbed Weavile between both sets of claws and clamped down on it tightly.

"Good work, Drapion," J commended it. Cutting and cutting away at her pant leg like a mad woman, she had halfway freed herself from the sticky, pink goo. "Now, Poison Fang!"

The purple glow forming in Drapion's mouth began to move down its arms toward its claws and the Pokemon trapped in them, but it was taking too long. Absol was already in position to thwart the attack.

"Absol, Night Slash! Hurry!" Evan yelled.

Leaping into the air, Absol ran its crimson claw against the upper part of Drapion's body. It was plenty effective to get the job done. Drapion's claws loosened enough for Weavile to slip free, and the Poison Fang attack dissipated into nothing.

"Good job!" the green-haired Ranger complimented Absol. The two Rangers' Pokemon backed up to a safe distance, out of range of Drapion's dangerous claws.

J, meanwhile, kept slicing away at the red fabric. "_Just a little longer..._" she thought.

"Looks like your Drapion is wearing down," Logan taunted the Pokemon hunter. Drapion was, in fact, starting to breathe more heavily. Between the earlier encounters with the police and this one with the Rangers, it had used a lot of attacks, not to mention the opposing blows it had been struck with. It was a good sign for the twin Rangers. If they kept it up, Drapion would eventually be out of their way. "Weavile, hit it with Dark Pulse!"

"Drapion, Cross Poison!" J ordered her tiring Pokemon, more of a defensive move than anything. She could see the condition it was in, but it would just have to endure, for both of their sakes.

A ball of purple and black circles formed between the hands of Weavile. Drapion's claws glowed a bright purple once more. Then they unleashed the attacks at one another. The beam of dark-colored circles and the X-shaped blast collided. The resulting plume of smoke compromised the vision of everyone.

"You should just give up now, J," Evan suggested through the smoke. The attitudes of he and his brother were going from confident to outright cocky.

That would change in a hurry.

A deafening bang rocked the windows overlooking the stairwell. Then, out of nowhere, a gigantic, gray net made of some sort of metallic substance flew out from the cloud of smoke. The net swept up Weavile, then Absol, and even the Pokemon Rangers, Logan and Evan, themselves. The force of the net threw them to the ground, but not before wrapping around their backs and binding them all together.

Logan cringed as he hit the ground shoulder-first. "Ouch! What the..."

"...heck is this?" Evan finished his brother's thought. He tried untangling himself from the net, but the material it was made of wasn't making it easy. "Where did it come from?"

As the smoke cleared, the brothers saw exactly where the net had come from. Drapion was hunched forward so that it was practically flat against the ground, and far behind it stood Pokemon Hunter J with the black gun she'd brought resting on her shoulder. Part of her right leg was exposed from a hole in her trousers, but it was a miniscule price to pay for being free from the adhesive that had backfired on her before.

J was all business, calm and composed as she took another round for the net gun from the pack on her waist and loaded it into the barrel. "I appreciate the advice, but I'm afraid giving up just doesn't suit me," she mocked the trapped Pokemon Rangers. "And one more thing..."

Logan, Evan, Weavile and Absol all screamed in pain as the net sent a wave of electric voltage coursing through their bodies. It lasted for five agonizing seconds. By the time it was over, both Rangers and both Pokemon had passed out from the trauma.

"You're not even in my league, brats," J spat at them. "Capture me? Don't make me laugh."

It had taken some of her precious ammunition and much of Drapion's energy, but J had won this battle. Now she took a moment to assess her situation. She'd taken out the camera for this particular area earlier, so nobody in the control center would know where exactly she was right now. And, for the time being, the path to the south was clear. Perhaps this time she could head that way without interruption.

Fumbling with a pokeball she held, J began to stroll toward Drapion. She would put her Pokemon away again until the next sign of trouble, but not before assessing its current condition. "Drapion, how a-"

At that moment, J was cut off as a red blur shot out from the corridor to the east. An Arcanine, using Flare Blitz and aiming right for Drapion. There wasn't any time to react. Even Drapion hadn't seen it coming. Arcanine crashed the full weight of itself right into the large Pokemon's upper body segments. Jarred by the attack, Drapion fell back into the glass on the upper part of the western wall. The glass panel shattered, showering Drapion, the floor and the stairwell on the other side of the wall with fragments of the sharp material.

J couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her Drapion knocked down like that. Arcanine was hurt by the impact of its own move as well, but its foe had clearly taken the worst of it.

"Arcanine, you take care of Drapion!" the voice of Arcanine's owner called out to it.

Of course, J already knew who it was. Only one of her pursuers had an Arcanine with them, after all. Watching the woman run out of the corridor, right past the two Pokemon, and plant herself directly in the Pokemon hunter's path only confirmed the obvious. Officer Jenny, hands balled up into fists in anticipation of a battle, would be J's next obstacle to overcome.

Behind them, Drapion, still shaking off the rough shot it had just taken, willed itself back into an upright position. Despite how much energy it had expended in prior battles, Drapion wanted a piece of Arcanine in the worst way.

"Drapion," J addressed her Pokemon from afar, "...I'll leave Arcanine to you. Do whatever you like."

The Ogre Scorp Pokemon couldn't have been happier to hear that. It unleashed a Poison Sting attack, sending Arcanine into a backpedal down the eastern corridor to avoid the purple darts. Drapion gave chase, and the two soon vanished from the sight of their owners.

Only two conscious beings were left in the battle-stricken corridor: Officer Jenny and Pokemon Hunter J. The face of good and the face of evil. The two women locked eyes, neither budging an inch. There was an incredible tension in the air. They were in their own zone, even tuning out the sounds of their Pokemon battling behind the cover of the eastern wall.

J was the first to move. She discarded her net gun, letting it fall to the floor. To most anyone else, it would appear to have been a foolish act. Not to Jenny, though. She knew why J had done it. She knew what the gun did, and she knew that she was quick enough to dodge the net at this distance. J knew that, too. She knew it all too well.

*_beep beep beep beep! beep beep beep beep!_*

Jenny's communicator began to sound off again. Not taking her eyes off of J, she slowly raised her wrist up by her mouth and activated the device. "Go ahead."

"Jenny, it's Solana. J has taken out some of the security cameras and we can't locate her," Solana explained the situation. "I was told you went after her toward the hangar. Have you found her?"

The seasoned officer hesitated to reply, still locked in a stare down with J. Then she gave the Pokemon Ranger an answer that made J raise an eyebrow. "No, she isn't here," Jenny responded with a blatant lie. "I think she might be headed back your way. Have the remaining forces gather over there."

"Understood. I'll keep an eye out for her," Solana acknowledged the order.

Officer Jenny switched off her wrist communicator.

Across from her, a knowing smile played on the lips of the notorious Pokemon Hunter J. "My, how the righteous have fallen."

* * *

**End of Chapter 9**


	10. Impossible Odds: Part II

_**Capture the Heart**_**  
by rkOujirou**

Author's note: This story is a continuation based on the Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl anime, starting from after the episode "The Battle Finale of Legend!".

Disclaimer: Pokemon is not my idea and I don't own it or any of the characters, obviously.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

At the western edge of the underground base, Officer Jenny and Pokemon Hunter J stood by themselves, facing each other. Thanks to Jenny's conversation with Solana, they likely wouldn't be interrupted by the other police officers and Pokemon Rangers roaming the complex. That was just how both women wanted it.

J's taunting words of, "My, how the righteous have fallen," didn't sit well with Jenny. To her, it was a ridiculous sounding statement. The name "Officer Jenny" was synonymous with righteousness not only in Sinnoh, but across the world. The entire family had fought against crime for generations, always trying to make the world a safer place to live in. They did their best to keep the world free from criminals like Pokemon poachers; criminals like J.

Jenny reached up and removed her dark blue hat, a staple of the police officer's uniform that she was so proud to put on every day. "You're saying that I've fallen?" she inquired, dropping the item to the ground. The hat came to rest next to the metal net where Pokemon Rangers Evan and Logan, along with their temporary Pokemon, still lay unconscious.

"Intentionally allowing criminals to escape? Lying to your allies? I'd call that very unbefitting of someone wearing your uniform," J had an amused tone to her voice. "Your obsession has gotten the better of you, Jen."

Not seeming overly angered by the accusations, Jenny began sliding off the white gloves she wore on her hands. "And when did I ever intentionally allow you to escape?" she asked.

"_Please_, you've seen me use that flash bomb before. You've even seen me pull it out of my sleeve," J was eager to point out, referencing the initial trap of the officers and Rangers that she'd gotten out of. "'Put both hands behind your back?' Very subtle."

Surprisingly, Jenny denied nothing. She finished removing her gloves and tossed them aside. Reaching into the navy blue pack on the left side of her waist, she then pulled out another pair of gloves, black in color. These, however, had thick steel rings between the knuckles on every finger except the thumb. The rings mimicked the effect of a pair of brass knuckles, increasing the damage done when a punch connected while reducing the likelihood of damage to the user's fingers at the same time. "It doesn't matter. We have total control of your base," the policewoman claimed, slipping one of the gloves onto her right hand. "There's no way you'll escape. Whether you like it or not, you _are_ going to prison tonight."

Once she had both gloves strapped on comfortably, Officer Jenny cracked the knuckles on both hands and narrowed her eyes at J. "I'm just making sure that I personally have the pleasure of taking away your freedom. After all the years I've spent chasing you, I just wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let someone else bring you down. Nobody, and I mean _nobody_, deserves that honor except for _me_."

J almost felt like applauding the woman's honesty. "Well said," she smirked in approval, motioning with her hand for Officer Jenny to come at her. "Here I am. Come strip me of my freedom...if you can."

Jenny was happy to oblige. She charged at the Pokemon hunter, fists tightened and ready to dish out a hurting. J wasn't going to just stand there and wait, though. Truth be told, she was still a little too close for comfort to the liquid adhesive covering the floor from earlier. Any extra distance between herself and the pink goo would be a plus, and thus she set forth to meet the officer head-on.

The first punch was thrown by Jenny, a simple, straight left aimed at J's face. J would show off some of her incredible agility as she took to the air, avoiding Jenny's punch and grabbing the other woman's right arm with both hands. J flipped over the top of Jenny's body, pulling the officer's arm back with her. The heels of J's boots clacked against the floor as she landed behind Jenny, their backs now facing each other. Then, utilizing her impressive physical strength, J pulled on Jenny's contorted arm and flung the woman over her shoulders.

Jenny may have gone for a ride and landed flat on her face if not for her own amazing reflexes. With her right hand, she grabbed hold of the left shoulder area of J's coat and used her opponent as an anchor. Jenny landed on her feet, now face-to-face with J, and grabbed the right sleeve of J's coat with her other hand. She had brought the Pokemon hunter into a very tight combat situation.

With both hands gripping J's clothing and keeping her close, Jenny threw her bare knee at J's abdomen. J crossed her forearms over her gut to block the shot though, muscling her right arm into place despite Jenny's hold on it. Jenny threw another knee, and then another. Try as she might, she wasn't getting through J's defense. Opting to try something else, Jenny let go of J's coat sleeve and attempted a left hook aimed for the silver-haired woman's face.

Pokemon Hunter J ducked Jenny's fist, spinning clockwise in the process. Then, coming back around, she tried to hit the female officer with a backfist. Jenny leaned her head back and narrowly avoided it, but also lost her grip on the shoulder portion of J's coat. Putting the extra distance to use, J brought her leg up and tried to stomp the heel of her boot into Jenny's chest, but Jenny caught her foot and held onto it.

Not wanting to give Jenny the time to capitalize, J kicked off of the officer's hands and sprung herself into a backflip. Jenny watched closely and moved in at just the right moment. As soon as J's feet touched down, Jenny used a leg sweep that connected and knocked J onto her back. J, however, quickly spun around on the floor and took out Jenny's footing with a leg sweep of her own. The two women rolled around and both got to one knee. Their chests moving in and out with the rhythm of their increased breathing, they faced each other again, unmoving.

A stalemate.

The expression on Jenny's face was stoic, focused. J, on the other hand, looked as though she'd enjoyed their exchange. This little detail didn't escape Jenny's perceptive stare.

"You're different," the policewoman stated.

"We both are. It's nice to see you've been honing your fighting skills," J complimented her.

"I'm not talking about that," Jenny insisted. "It's that smile. You've never smiled like that in front of me when we fought before."

"Really? I hadn't noticed," J dismissed the observation with a gentle shrug of her shoulders. "I forget, how long has it been since the last time we went at it like this, Jen?"

Jenny didn't even have to think about the answer. She'd been counting the days since the last time she'd had such an opportunity. "One year, one month and eight days," she said. "Way too long!"

Not waiting around any longer, Officer Jenny got up off of her knee and went back on the offensive. J followed suit. The Pokemon hunter landed a solid kick to the left side of Jenny's body, a shot that Jenny allowed for the chance to get in close and land a knockout blow. Jenny aimed the steel on her gloves at J's cheek and swung, but J swirled to the side and avoided the attack, watching as Jenny's fist nearly grazed the tip of her nose. J was about to drive her knee into Jenny's gut when the officer's elbow suddenly came back around and cracked her in the face.

That hit provided enough of an opening for Jenny to get behind her target. She grabbed J's right arm, pinned it behind her and wrapped her own free arm around J's throat. "Solana tells me you've been going off on your own a lot lately, so much that even your crew thought it was strange," Jenny mentioned, trying to keep the wanted criminal under her control. "Tell me, what have you been up to?"

J used her free hand to try to pry Jenny's arm away from her neck. It wouldn't be hard for Jenny to choke her out otherwise. "I wanted to keep it private, but since you asked, I've been out doing some clothes shopping. You should think about it, too. I'm sure your wardrobe could use an upgrade," J teased the woman.

"Don't joke around with me! Tell me the truth!" the female officer demanded, tightening her grip.

Capitalizing on the momentary lapse in concentration, J drove the back of her head into Jenny's face, forcing the woman to let go of her. J then grabbed Jenny's arm and flung her to the floor. She grapevined her legs around the officer's limb and pulled back on it with her hands, threatening to break it. Jenny clamped her other hand onto the trapped one and yanked back with all of her strength to keep J from snapping her arm.

"Well then, would you believe I was out watching movies?" J continued to mock the question.

"Like you would ever have any interest in those things!" Jenny snarled back at her.

Officer Jenny rolled onto her knees and positioned herself directly over J. She was going to give the notorious hunter no choice but to let go of her. Once she was back on her feet, Jenny slowly began raising her arm, and J along with it, up into the air. When J had reached knee level, Jenny used the power in her legs to boost the criminal above her head with one burst of energy.

Knowing she would be slammed against the ground if she didn't let go, J wisely gave up her grip on Jenny's arm and dropped to a standing position. Now free of each other and in close range, both women came up with the same idea. They each turned and threw a side kick at the other's chest. J's deceptively long legs got the better shot in on Jenny's side, but Jenny's foot was able to make contact with J as well. The two of them jumped back and slid to a stop, both holding the spot where they'd been hit.

Now, Jenny noticed, the expression on J's face had changed. She wasn't smiling as she had been earlier. Instead, she looked serious.

"What if I said...that I'd fallen in love?" J abruptly asked.

Jenny silently batted her eyes at the silver-haired hunter. Surely it was just another false answer to her earlier question designed to get under her skin. The absurdity of this one was just too much, though.

"Now that one I know is a lie," Jenny said, tightening up her gloves. "You? In love? Please! There isn't a man in the world that could tame you."

True. There really wasn't a _man_ in the world that could tame her, J admitted to herself. "You're right, but I could say the same thing about you," she told Jenny. "We're two of a kind, you and I."

"Don't put me in the same category as you," the policewoman objected to the comparison.

"Deny it all you like, but you know it's the truth. I'm sure you've heard the results from times when your sisters and cousins have crossed paths with me," J said, stretching out the arm that had been pinned behind her earlier to return some of the feeling to it. "Those pathetic weaklings would have trouble stopping a petty shoplifter if they ever encountered one."

Officer Jenny looked genuinely upset at that last remark. "My family is dedicated to keeping the peace in this world. Every one of us that puts on this uniform is brave and noble for doing what they do. Don't you EVER speak badly of them!"

"Not a single one of them can measure up to you!" J snapped back at the woman. "You've spent most of your adult life tracking me and you're frustratingly good at it. Tell me, what would you ever do if I were caught and imprisoned? Spend your days handing out parking tickets like the rest of your family? Would you be satisfied with that?"

Though she wasn't sure where J was going with this, Jenny answered the question. "If that's what was asked of me, yes."

"You're deceiving yourself if that's what you believe," J accused her. "You wouldn't be able to stand it. You're too good for something like that. It would be a colossal waste of talent."

"What are you getting at, J?"

"I'm saying what deep down you already know: without me to chase, your life would be empty. You _need_ me, Jen."

There was a tense quiet between the two women. The sounds of Drapion and Arcanine battling had stopped, but neither took notice of it.

Once J's words had enough time to sink in, Jenny gave her the only appropriate response she could. "I am a police officer, and despite what you might think, I _am_ still righteous," she declared. "I _will_ take you down and I _will_ send you to jail. If the end of your Pokemon poaching days makes my life become a little less exciting, then so be it! That's a trade-off I'll gladly accept!"

J wasn't surprised in the least by that answer. Jenny was a stubborn woman that would spout off about her principles to the very end. "Well then, I suppose we should wrap this up," the Pokemon hunter suggested.

Officer Jenny readied herself for the inevitable physicality of what was about to happen. "Let's do it."

In the blink of an eye, the clash between J and Jenny resumed. What had taken place before seemed only to be a warmup now as the two women completely let loose on one another. Jenny threw her vicious fists at J over and over again, trying to land that one punch that could stun the hunter enough to finish her off. Blocking the blows would do unwanted damage thanks to Jenny's special gloves, so J instead swatted them away or moved her head around them.

Jenny would finally get her hit, though, and she took another clean one in order to do it. J slugged her on the left side of her face, but Jenny pushed forward and grabbed a handful of the silver-haired woman's coat. J tried to move her arm down to soften the shot she knew was coming, but Jenny didn't allow her the time. The officer pulled J toward her and dug her right fist into the criminal's abdomen. J doubled over, momentarily stunned by the heavy blow.

Then came the follow-up shot. Still holding onto J's coat, Jenny landed an uppercut on the bridge of the woman's nose. The rings on Jenny's glove smashed through the screen of J's headset and then into the cartilage of her nose, breaking it on impact. J's head flew back, as did the rest of her body, with enough force that she was freed from Jenny's grip, but the damage had been done.

Blood seeped from J's nostrils and dripped down onto the floor next to small pieces of her headset. Somehow, she still had her wits about her. J continued to backpedal as Jenny closed in for the knockout blow, and then she turned the tide of the battle. J played possum, turning her back toward the officer and looking more dazed than she truly was, and Jenny fell for it. The policewoman ate a sharp wheel kick to her jaw courtesy of J's boot. She'd never seen it coming.

Jenny staggered back, and J, her face a mess, went after her. J jumped into the air and twirled around, landing a devastating spin kick to Jenny's cheek. The officer again reeled and J kept on her, hitting her with another spin kick that sent her into the stone wall of the corridor. The Pokemon hunter's educated feet were dishing out some serious damage. Jenny used the wall at her back to keep herself upright. The wheel kick had made her inadvertently bite her tongue. She could taste the blood in her open mouth, and J could see it.

Pokemon Hunter J moved to finish off her prey before she could recover. She jumped into the air again, planning to put everything she had into one final knockout kick to Jenny's jaw. The policewoman was gritty, though. Growling through her blood-covered teeth, Jenny lunged forward and caught J in midair, then threw her back into the eastern wall. Jenny closed the distance quickly to keep J from escaping and began unloading fists into the woman's body.

One of Jenny's punches hit J in the side of her abdomen. Another was blocked by J's left forearm, a blow that was going to leave an ugly bruise. After that, J decided she'd had enough of this position. She needed to get the hell away from the wall and give herself some room to maneuver and fight freely. J slipped by a third punch from the officer and dove to her left to get away. That was when she felt a sudden weight on her boot. Jenny had planted her own foot on top of it.

Unable to regain her balance, J fell to her stomach. Jenny, seizing the opportunity presented to her, lifted her right leg up and stomped down on the Pokemon hunter's left ankle. The resulting sound of bone cracking rang in both of their ears.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" J grabbed at her ankle, wailing in pain.

Spitting out some of the blood pooling in her mouth, Officer Jenny took a step back and stared down at her foe. Oh how she loved the sight before her. Pokemon Hunter J, the woman she'd spent all those years chasing, was down and in a great deal of agony, and it was all because of her.

"That looks like it hurts a little," Jenny teased her fallen opponent. Her expression was still as serious as ever despite the joy she was taking in this moment.

J struggled in trying to get back to a standing position, hissing obscenities through her teeth all the while.

"What are you doing?" the policewoman slowly crept toward her. "Don't tell me you're planning to fight me on one leg?"

When healthy, the two women were an even match for one another. For one of them to face the other with a broken ankle was just absurd. J knew that, too, but when the only other alternative was to surrender herself to the authorities, fighting with only one leg to stand on was easily the lesser of the two evils.

Using the wall for assistance, J very gingerly hobbled back onto her one good foot. She was using every mental trick she knew to try to put the pain emanating from her ankle in the back of her mind. Even the pain in J's stomach from the punches she'd taken was a bit of a help; at least it was distracting her from her ankle a bit. A quick test confirmed that she couldn't put any weight at all on the broken joint.

Quietly seething to herself, J scowled back at Jenny through her broken headset. "Don't get all cocky just because you got one of my ankles," the Pokemon hunter warned the officer.

Jenny knew all about the perils of getting overconfident when going up against J, but this wasn't like any skirmish they'd had before. "And what do you think you can do against me with one leg?" she questioned the criminal. "You can't kick me when your only good leg is keeping you upright. What are you going to do? Huh?"

"Why don't you come over here and find out?" J snarled in response.

Shaking her head, Jenny gladly took her foe up on the invitation. She approached J with her fists raised, looking poised to start wailing away with her gloves again, but instead she snapped a quick kick at the woman's wounded ankle.

"AAAAGH!" J cried out, crumbling to her knees. The pain was just too much.

Officer Jenny looked down at the Pokemon hunter in disgust. J appeared so pathetic right now, clutching at her ankle and on the verge of defeat. Jenny couldn't stand to see it. It was time to put an end to this.

J felt a weight on her back, then an arm curling around her throat from behind. Jenny wrapped her legs around J's torso and put all of her strength into clinching her arm against the woman's neck.

"Time for you to go to sleep," the officer whispered into J's ear. She was going to choke J out.

J pulled against Jenny's arms, trying frantically to keep the woman from cinching in the hold. She needed to do something fast. Jenny was in a much better position and she wasn't going anywhere, not with her legs locked around J's abdomen as they were. If things stayed this way, J would undoubtedly be the one to tire first.

"_I can't fall here,"_ J silently reminded herself of who she was doing all of this for. Her mind was soon filled with images of Dawn. "_If I do..._"

Most of J's life had been spent despising other people. She hated her aunt and uncle with the utmost passion for the way they treated her after her parents had passed away. She detested those Pokemon poachers who had used she and Bagon to do their work, even though they had provided her with food and shelter in return. She loathed police officers, Pokemon Rangers and anyone else that tried to get in the way of her jobs. She didn't even enjoy being around her own crew members, though she learned to tolerate them since they were necessary to carrying on the large operation she once ran. For the longest time, she truly wanted nothing to do with anyone.

All of that changed the instant one blue-haired girl wandering around at night in her pajamas started wiping the dried blood away from J's face. It took a while for J to realize it, of course. She'd thought herself to be incapable of wanting to be near other people anymore. She had experienced friendship back when she was attending school as a youngster, but that was a very long time and many unpleasant memories ago. Love? That idea outright disgusted the Pokemon hunter. It seemed like something that only weak people felt because they weren't strong enough to go through life on their own. And yet, here came along this girl named Dawn, and J wanted to see her again. She wanted to be near her. She wanted to hear her voice. Right at this moment, she wanted to grab hold of that girl and never let go of her.

Dawn was that little pest who wouldn't leave J alone after the girl had found her at Lake Valor. That brat who had called her horrible. That girl she just couldn't seem to forget about, no matter how hard she tried. That bright, shining light that had somehow managed to capture her heart.

"_If I fall...I'll never be able to be with her_," J told herself. "_I can't fall here. I can't fall here! I can't!_"

Jenny's eyes widened in surprise when the Pokemon hunter planted her right foot against the ground. "Stop struggling!" she screamed at J, waiting for her to give in.

That demand only urged J on more. Slowly but surely, one leg and all, she was raising herself upward. Even with the full weight of Officer Jenny on her back, J was doing it. And she did do it. Much to Jenny's dismay, J was standing again. Jenny rocked herself back, trying to make J lose her balance and fall back down, but the silver-haired woman leaned forward to compensate for the shift in weight. She would not go down.

"Now what? You still can't do anything!" Jenny hollered into J's ear. She was getting ever closer to winning the battle of arm strength and choking the woman out.

"We'll see...about that...!" J growled through her teeth.

Knowing her current position within the corridor, J took one hop backwards on her leg. Then another. And then another, leaning back enough so that Jenny's weight was helping build momentum. One more hop, faster this time. On the fifth and last one, J threw herself and Jenny back into one of the glass panels on the western wall. It couldn't handle the force of the two women slamming into it.

The glass shattered. J fell back against the concrete portion of the wall and was showered with small chunks of the window. Some pieces hit her body and slid off, while others stuck themselves into her hair. A few pieces even fell down the collar of her coat.

For a moment, J just sat amidst the glass shards, staring ahead blankly as she tried to catch her breath. Her nose, abdomen and ankle hurt like hell, the ankle worst of all. Jenny was...somewhere, but definitely not latched onto her neck anymore. J could hear a pained groan coming from the stairwell behind her. She could guess what had happened to Jenny now.

J pushed herself up until she was sitting on the concrete part of the wall, cringing with every little movement her left foot made along the way, and looked down into the stairwell below. Officer Jenny was laid out on the incline of stairs, writhing in pain and clutching at her left shoulder area. She had fallen 16 feet and landed heavily on the left side of her back. The impact with the stairs had broken her left collarbone. Her greenish blue hair was also showing a hint of red due to some cuts on the back and side of her head that were opened by the glass.

The silver-haired hunter turned back around toward the corridor. After one more deep breath, she got back onto her good foot and hobbled over to the net gun she'd discarded earlier. It may have to be used for its true purpose later, but for now J was using it as a cane of sorts to help her walk. She wearily made her way over to the corridor to the east where her Drapion and Jenny's Arcanine had disappeared to earlier.

Wiping away more of the blood that was dripping down from her broken nose, J leaned up against the wall for support as she took in the sight of the two Pokemon. Arcanine was sprawled out on the ground. Drapion was just barely propped up against the southern wall. Neither were moving. Evidently, they had battled to a draw.

Lightly nodding her head, J held out her creature's pokeball. "Drapion, return."

Drapion had given everything it had in the course of multiple battles today, and its master appreciated it. J made a mental note that she would have to give it a treat once this whole mess was over with. As she put Drapion away, she briefly glanced down at the pokeball of her one remaining Pokemon. "Looks like it's just you and I, Salamence," she said softly.

With the assistance of her gun, J slowly resumed her trek toward the southern end of her base. She was now more appreciative of how much ground she'd been able to gain while running before. Jenny had really done a number on her by taking out her ankle, she bitterly admitted. The thought of that frustrating woman brought J's eyes to the upcoming door to the stairwell. The door wasn't electronically controlled like the others. There was no need since the entrance to the hangar at the bottom of the stairs already had such controls.

The Pokemon hunter soon made it to the spot where the door sat. She took a long look at it, trying to decide between hurrying onward and another, less efficient choice. For some inexplicable reason, she was leaning toward the less efficient choice.

"Maybe I'm getting soft," J muttered with a disappointed sigh. Though not happy with her decision, she went over to the door, grabbed the handle and swung it open.

Officer Jenny was still on her back and not moving much. Although the pounding in her face and her collarbone stood out more than the pain in other parts of her body, absolutely everything felt like it hurt after the fall she'd taken. She'd thought choking J out was a move that came with fewer risks than continuing to fight as they had been doing, but that damn woman had shown yet again why nobody had been able to bring her to justice yet.

The female officer was livid, cursing herself for blowing such a chance, when she began to hear a clanking noise coming from the metal stairs above her. She tried arching her head back to see what it was, but the pain in her busted collarbone put a stop to that in a hurry. Jenny hissed in discomfort as she clutched at her left shoulder area again.

"Still alive?" a familiar voice asked.

"Screw you!" Jenny immediately retaliated. It seemed that a certain Pokemon hunter wanted to rub it in a bit, which was the last thing the policewoman wanted right now.

Using the railing of the staircase to brace herself as she hopped downward, J stopped on the step just above where Jenny's head lay and leaned back against the wall, making sure not to put any weight on her left foot. She was still trying to catch her breath while looking over the downed officer.

"Collarbone," Jenny spitefully conceded the main source of her anguish.

"Ouch. I suppose that's a fair trade for my ankle and nose," J said to her, sounding satisfied.

"What are you even doing here? Don't you realize your base is still full of people looking for you?"

"I figured that fib you fed to the Ranger girl earlier bought me some extra time, so I came to check on you."

"I don't need your damn pity!"

"My goodness, fine then. If that's how you're going to be, maybe I'll leave."

"Good! Go!"

With an indifferent shrug of her shoulders, J grabbed the railing again and began ascending the stairs. Jenny was obviously still full of energy. Once the others found her, she'd be perfectly fine.

"J..."

Hearing the officer utter her name, the Pokemon hunter turned around. "Hmm?"

Jenny looked to be calming down somewhat as she stared up at the ceiling of the stairwell. "You weren't wrong," she spoke.

"Oh? About what?" J arched a curious eyebrow at the woman.

Closing her eyes, Jenny thought back to a particular day not so long ago; it was one that she would never forget for the rest of her life. "That day...I was following up on a tip about where you were. It led me to Lake Valor," she said. "I was there..."

Now the female officer had Pokemon Hunter J's full attention. "You saw that, did you?" J asked, knowing just what she was talking about. "That's unfortunate. It was the lowest point in my entire professional life."

"No, listen..." Jenny insisted, drawing an inquiring glance from the other woman, "...there's something you don't know about that day..."

* * *

_Lake Valor, the day J's ship went down..._

Officer Jenny's scooter sped toward the large body of water. Arcanine ran alongside her, having no trouble keeping up with the vehicle. That ship people had reported seeing nearby sounded a lot like the ship of Pokemon Hunter J and her crew from the descriptions provided.

With the shore of Lake Valor fast approaching, the officer slammed on her brakes and brought her vehicle to a stop right at the shoreline. Scanning the area for that elusive criminal she just could never seem to apprehend, it wasn't long before she spotted something over on the eastern shore. It was J's ship, no doubt about it. Unfortunately, the ship was now lifting into the air.

"Shoot, we were too late!" Jenny fumed. "Come on, Arcanine, we're follo-!"

Jenny cut herself off. What looked like two lightning bolts appeared seemingly from out of nowhere and struck J's ship. Smoke billowed from the ship's exterior. The damage done to it was obviously significant, because the massive machine was rapidly falling toward a raging whirlpool on the lake's surface.

"Wh-...what are you doing? Get that thing under control..." Officer Jenny shook her head, not understanding what was going on. J always had some sort of emergency measure ready to take when things like this happened. Why wasn't she doing anything?

The policewoman dismounted her scooter and stood next to Arcanine as they watched the ship continue to plummet. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. She didn't want to believe it.

"You're going to crash, dammit! DO SOMETHING!" Jenny screamed, her face now showing a look of panic.

She could only watch in complete and utter shock as the ship fell into the violent water and sank, the sound of its engines gradually fading into silence. The ensuing explosion deep below the surface of the lake moments later set off something in Jenny's heart that she never would have thought was there.

Officer Jenny dropped to her knees, breathless. This couldn't be happening. J was...dead? There was no way. She had chased that woman forever. J was too cunning, too intelligent. She could not have just died like that. She couldn't have.

The stunned expression on Jenny's face quickly turned to one of fierce anger. "Don't you screw with me..." she balled her hands into fists and slammed them down into the dirt. "She was mine! She was MINE!"

Jenny snapped. Suddenly raising her head, she tossed her hat to the ground and kicked her shoes off. The officer dove headfirst into the water without even thinking about the danger the whirlpool may pose to her. Luckily, it was far enough away that she wasn't pulled into its flow, but that could change if she got too close.

She swam like she never had in her entire life. With every stroke she went further out from the shore, deeper into the watery depths. Far, far below, she could see the smoldering remains of J's ship. There was no chance Jenny could make it down there without an oxygen tank. Even if she could, everyone aboard had certainly perished in the explosion.

"_This isn't funny! Don't you tell me she's dead! She has to be here somewhere! She HAS to be!_" Jenny frantically thought.

Then, out of the corner of Jenny's eye, an object in the water drew her attention. Coming from the direction of the whirlpool and drawing nearer. Deeper than she was, but not out of her range. A body?

Officer Jenny couldn't stay there; she was out of air. The uniformed woman swam back up to the surface and caught her breath. It really had looked like a body, she thought. Filling her lungs with air, she dove again to get a better look. It was closer now. The arms and legs were much easier to see. It really was a body. The colors of the person's hair and clothing were difficult to make out underwater. Jenny had to get in closer. She needed to know if it was the person she was looking for.

The body had a black coat. Underneath was a suit of another, lighter color. The hair appeared to be light-colored. Jenny still couldn't make it out. She pushed herself as hard as she could and, finally, she made it to the necessary depth. The body had gloves on its hands like the person she was looking for would, but no headset over its face, a discouraging sign. Ready for whatever may come, Jenny reached out and grabbed the person's hand. Their hair shifted, giving the officer a clear look at the face that went with the body.

There she was. No headset, blood seeping from a bad cut on her forehead, but definitely her. Definitely J. There was no way she had been on the ship when it exploded. The force of the whirlpool had probably carried her right out through the broken windows of her ship and then thrown her body over this way.

Jenny couldn't believe her luck. What were the odds? Well, that wouldn't matter if J ended up dying. She needed to get the wounded woman back to dry land, pronto. She kicked her legs at full speed while pulling J's body behind her. 30 feet to go. 20 feet. 10 feet. 5 feet.

Arcanine was on the shore looking extremely concerned for its master until it saw her shoot out from the water. Jenny took a couple of deep breaths and brought J's head above the surface. She wrapped one arm around the woman's chest and used her other to paddle them out of the lake.

Once she reached ground, Jenny yanked J's body far enough onto the shore that only her feet were still touching water. The Pokemon hunter was disturbingly pale. Jenny put her ear next to J's mouth to check for breathing. Nothing. She placed her thumb against the woman's neck to check for a pulse. Again, nothing.

Immediately, Jenny began performing CPR on the lifeless body.

"Come on! You are NOT dying on me! Breathe!" the officer shouted. She placed one hand over the other on J's chest and began doing compressions.

After 30 pushes, J still wasn't breathing. Jenny locked her mouth over the other woman's and gave a short breath. One more. Still no breathing. She returned to the chest compressions.

J's Salamence came out of its pokeball on its own all of a sudden, startling the policewoman. Seeing its master in such an awful state made it furious enough that it wanted to rip Jenny to shreds. Arcanine moved itself between them just in case Salamence tried to do so, but Jenny never stopped attending to J.

"Salamence, she's not breathing! She'll die if I don't do this!" Jenny pleaded with the upset creature. "I know we're enemies, but I don't want her to die either! You've got to trust me!"

Jenny breathed into J's mouth 2 more times. Nothing. She started another round of compressions.

Though Salamence despised the female officer, it seemed to grasp the situation now. Rather than impeding the revival process, it brushed by Arcanine and sat itself down with its head by its fallen master. Worried cries began streaming from its mouth.

"Dammit, J, Salamence needs you! I-..." Jenny stopped herself. "Just breathe! BREATHE!"

Officer Jenny delivered another short breath to J's mouth. When she leaned forward and did it a second time, she felt something against her lips. Water. Jenny snapped back and watched in amazement as J coughed up the water that she had inhaled from the lake. The Pokemon hunter's eyes looked like they wanted to open, but the woman never quite regained consciousness. Jenny leaned back down and listened for breathing. It was there, she could hear it. Just to make sure she wasn't crazy, she checked J's pulse again. It was also there; faint, but there nonetheless.

J was alive.

Feeling both exhausted and overwhelmed by the ordeal, Jenny fell back to a seated position and brushed the sopping wet hair away from her face. "I did it...she's breathing. She's alive," the policewoman breathed a sigh of relief, perhaps trying to convince herself that what had just happened was all real. She had just saved the life of one of Sinnoh's most notorious criminals.

Salamence was standing up again, nuzzling its head against J's face. To see her breathing made it indescribably happy. It didn't ever want to imagine losing its master. For once, it was appreciative of Jenny's presence and it wanted to show her so. The winged Pokemon walked over to the officer and gently rubbed its head against her arm a couple times before returning to J's side.

"_Did Salamence just thank me?_" Jenny wondered. Yes, strangely enough, it probably had.

Jenny got back to her feet. At that point, seeing J lying there on the ground, her sense of duty began to kick in. There was Pokemon Hunter J, unconscious. If Jenny called in some backup, she and some others could likely take down Salamence through sheer numbers. Then J would be theirs to apprehend.

It wasn't a bad idea. In fact, it's exactly what Jenny should have done as a member of law enforcement. The only problem? Jenny hated it. Just as the thought of J dying made her sick, so did the thought of taking her into custody when she was defenseless. Jenny didn't want her long sought victory over J to be like that. She wanted to earn it. J deserved better; she deserved a fighting chance.

"Salamence, keep watch over her," Jenny instructed the other Pokemon, then turned to her own. "Come on, Arcanine. We're leaving."

Arcanine didn't try to coerce her otherwise. Jenny retrieved her hat, slipped on her shoes and got back onto her scooter. This one time she would let J go, but the next time they met would be different. The next time, Jenny told herself, she would bring J down for good.

* * *

Pokemon Hunter J's mouth hung open in a rare display of surprise. Had she heard Jenny right? Did Jenny really...?

"Like I said, you weren't wrong," Officer Jenny grudgingly admitted, wincing as her collarbone sent another wave of pain through her shoulder area. "When I saw your ship go down, I...look, I'm not saying I _need_ you. I just didn't want you gone."

At that moment, J did something that Jenny had never seen her do before. She laughed. She laughed uncontrollably to the point that her eyes even began to water.

"This...this is ridiculous!" J fell back against the railing while holding her side. The laughter was making her already aching abdomen hurt even worse. "After all we've been through, _you_ save my life, Jen? Ahahahaha!"

"What? You don't believe me?" Jenny snapped at her, annoyed by the reaction.

"No, it's not that..." the silver-haired hunter stifled another round of chuckles that threatened to escape her mouth. "I believe you. You know too many little details that you wouldn't otherwise, though I may ask Salamence about it later just because you doing such a thing sounds so preposterous."

"I would have saved anyone's life. That's the sort of thing a police officer does," Jenny snorted.

"True, but a good police officer wouldn't have left me there to bleed all over myself," J added to get under the woman's skin a little. "Still, I suppose I owe you one now..."

"No, you don't," the officer stopped her in a hurry.

"What makes you say that?" J asked.

Jenny let out a sigh as she tried to adjust her body for comfort. It didn't work well. "You could have brought out Salamence to get rid of me just now, but you didn't. You gave me what I wanted and fought me yourself," she pointed out. "That makes us even."

"You call that even?" J voiced with some skepticism. It wasn't much of a favor when it was what _both_ of them wanted. Jenny had even done as much of a favor by not calling Solana and the others over to assist her in taking J out.

"Yes, I do!" Officer Jenny emphatically answered. "You really get on my nerves, you know that? Hurry up and get out of here!"

Though amused at Jenny's irritation, J was in agreement that she'd spent enough time here. She needed to get moving before the remaining officers and Pokemon Rangers found her. "Fine, if you insist."

Jenny wanted to shake her head as she listened to the clanking sounds of J's right boot and her net gun hitting the stairs, but it wouldn't have been worth the grief her collarbone would give her.

"Hey, J..." the policewoman addressed her foe one last time.

"What is it now?" J asked, not stopping.

Jenny hesitated, but she was able to spit out the words. "You didn't really fall in love, did you?"

That question brought a smile back to J's bloodied face. "And what if I had?" she inquired.

"I'd want to meet whoever it was," Jenny told her. "If anyone were able to reel you in, they'd have to be amazing. Absolutely amazing."

J saw nothing wrong with that statement; Dawn really was amazing. "You know, since I'm such a kind person, I'll do one more thing to really make us even. Just for you, I'll make it out of here without being caught by that Ranger brat," she spoke without looking back at the fallen officer. "That way you and I can keep playing our little game. I'd hate to see you reduced to handing out parking tickets, after all."

The Pokemon hunter continued on toward the top of the staircase. She wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she'd heard the words "good luck" whispered from further down behind her.

It was probably all just in her head, J figured. Probably.

* * *

Inside the control center of the base, Pokemon Ranger Solana and the two police officers with her were scanning through various camera shots from all around the complex. If Jenny had been right about J heading back their way, there should have been some indication of her presence by now. A shot of her on camera would be ideal, but even finding that one more of the cameras had been disabled would have helped. At least then Solana would have a general idea of where her target was. Right now, she had nothing of the sort.

While the officers' eyes remained glued to the screen displaying camera feeds, Solana tried speaking with Jenny again via her wrist communicator. Oddly, there was no answer. "What is going on here? First J disappears on us and now I can't get in contact with Officer Jenny!" the agitated Ranger scowled.

"Wait, wait, what's that?" one of the male officers pointed to the bottom part of the monitor.

"Hey, isn't that...?" the other squinted, wondering if he was seeing what he thought he saw.

Still irked by everything that seemed to be going wrong, Solana glanced up at the screen to see what the two men were talking about. It was a live view of the upper portion of the stairwell that led down to the base's hangar, a shot that Solana had been ignoring based on Jenny's last message. She now wished she had paid it more attention. There were two window panels along the top of the stairwell that clearly looked to be broken out. More important, however, was the top half of someone's body that could be seen laid out on the stairs near the bottom of the view.

Solana jumped to the controls and zoomed in on the person. "Jenny!" she gasped.

"It _is_ her! It looks like she fell through the glass..." one of the officers suggested.

"More like she was _thrown_ through it," Solana corrected him. "J is the only enemy left in the base; she had to have done it. She must have been hiding over there and ambushed Jenny!"

"So...where is J going then?" the other officer asked.

Solana was pondering that herself. If J's aim wasn't the control center as Jenny had assumed, she might still be on the western edge of the base. If that were the case and she was following a pattern similar to before...

Then it hit her. While training to work the controls, Solana was made aware of the fact that there was one room in the base that could not be accessed from the control center. What was inside that room was a mystery to the crew. It was something only Pokemon Hunter J herself knew.

"You two," Solana suddenly addressed the officers, "...please go check on Jenny. She looks to be hurt badly."

The officers did as they were asked. They had been instructed to follow Solana's command in the event that Jenny became unable to lead them for whatever reason. Taking their Stunky and Growlithe respectively, the men hurried out of the control center toward the stairwell where the injured woman lay.

Solana now looked up at her temporary Pokemon, Rhyperior. The towering creature had been itching to join the hunt for J. It made that evident by looking like it wanted to crush the screen every time the woman had appeared on camera earlier.

"Rhyperior," Solana said, "...it's our turn. Are you ready for some action?"

The beast emitted a loud roar and banged on its chest a couple times for good measure. It had been ready for a long time. First, though, Solana needed to dish out some new orders to the members of her team that were still able to fight. _She_ was running this operation now.

"Everyone, this is Solana," the Pokemon Ranger spoke into her communicator. "I know where J is headed..."

* * *

**End of Chapter 10**


	11. Impossible Odds: Part III

_**Capture the Heart**_**  
by rkOujirou**

Author's note: This story is a continuation based on the Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl anime, starting from after the episode "The Battle Finale of Legend!".

Disclaimer: Pokemon is not my idea and I don't own it or any of the characters, obviously.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

*_clink...clink...clink..._*

Battered, bruised, and in some places broken, Pokemon Hunter J was gradually advancing through the westernmost corridor of her infiltrated base. It was quiet, empty. The only significant noise was that of J's net gun striking the ground, bracing the left side of her body with every step she took.

Her nose, which Officer Jenny had smashed with the steel rings on her gloves, was still dripping blood down onto her lips. Her broken ankle, courtesy of a stomp from Jenny's foot, had severely limited her mobility. She had no regrets about choosing to fight the officer, though. In fact, she was grateful for the chance. Long ago, J and Jenny had their first run-in back in a time when J was still under the leadership of other Pokemon poachers and Jenny was still in training to become a full-fledged police officer; two up-and-comers on opposite sides of the law. In the years that followed, they would become the bitterest of rivals. In a way, they knew each other better than anyone else did. Thus, it was only fitting, J figured, that she had to go through Jenny one more time on this day.

Thankfully for J, she didn't have much farther to travel with her aching body. The northern wall of her destination was just up ahead. It was the wall of her personal chamber where she slept on most nights—a room inaccessible to everyone except her. Along that northern wall, however, ran another corridor that led straight to the left on one side and slanted to the right on the other. She would need to take that slanted path to reach the door to her room.

J approached the new area cautiously. She didn't hear anything that sounded like her pursuers, but she wouldn't put it past them to be lying in wait to spring a trap. Once she had reached the splitting path, she pressed herself flat against the wall and very slowly peeked her head out to look down the hallway.

It was clear.

Evidently, Jenny's earlier fib to Solana about J's location was even more helpful than J had expected. There didn't appear to be any officers or Rangers in this part of the complex. Wanting to keep things that way, J hurried—as best she could on one leg at least—down the diagonal path to the southwest. There were a pair of functioning cameras along the way, but there wasn't any need to destroy them as she had been doing before. After all, even if someone in the control center did spot her now, she was going to be inside her room before anyone could make it here to stop her.

The Pokemon hunter switched the net gun over to her right hand and pressed her left palm up against the wall for support. Hopping on her good leg in such a manner was faster than using the gun as a cane and walking. Now she was making good progress. The door was almost within sight. Just a little further...

"_Now!_"

The instant she rounded the corner, J was met with the sight of a green-colored arm extending in her direction. She instinctively lifted her net gun and fired, aiming to take down whoever was responsible for the surprise attack, but the green arm, which was actually a series of vines, wrapped around the gun's barrel and pulled it to the side. With its trajectory changed, the net was instead shot into the wall and slid downward until it came to rest harmlessly on the floor.

Just as the gun was yanked out of J's hand, another arm came flying toward her. She quickly reached for and grabbed the pokeball containing her Salamence, but she wasn't able to toss it in time. The vines wrapped around her body several times over, covering her from the shoulders on down to the knees and effectively constricting her arms. J had been caught.

"Good job, Tangrowth!" the one responsible for the attack said excitedly.

J glared disdainfully at the high-spirited girl, who happened to be standing directly in front of the door to her room. "You..."

"Pokemon Ranger Kimberly, also known as your captor," the girl in the red uniform, who had similarly red hair flowing down to her elbows, beamed proudly. Situated in front of her was a Tangrowth, another Pokemon from J's inventory that had been rescued earlier. "I'm guessing from that messed up face of yours that someone else got to you first, but that's okay. You finally ran out of luck, J."

Retracting its right arm, Tangrowth handed Kimberly the net gun it had confiscated from their prisoner. Only one net at a time could be loaded into the weapon, and that net had already been fired. Since it would be of no use to her, Kimberly opted to throw the gun over her shoulder, far out of J's reach should anything go wrong.

"Okay, Tangrowth, keep her wrapped up until the others get here," the redhead puffed out her chest, looking especially smug.

J found what Kimberly had just said to contain some interesting information. The girl hadn't even communicated to her allies that she had J in custody, yet they were apparently on their way here. That meant that somebody in their ranks had already figured out where J was going and ordered everyone to this spot even before the Pokemon hunter had gotten here.

"_That little spy must have figured it out,_" J inwardly cursed the troublesome girl. Solana was the only one with firsthand knowledge of the base, so it was tough to imagine it being anyone other than her.

This was a bad situation for J that wasn't going to get any better with more company set to arrive. Bad, but not hopeless. She still had Salamence's pokeball in her right hand, and, if what she was feeling was correct, there was a bit of space between the vines in just the right spot. If she could just manage to force it through there...

"Awfully proud of ourselves, aren't we?" J began taunting the Ranger.

"Maybe a little," Kimberly said with a boastful grin. "Can you really blame me, though?"

J began pushing the pokeball against the vines as she distracted Kimberly with some idle chatter. It was taking some effort, but she thought she could feel them starting to give way a bit. "Considering there's no chance of these vines being enough to hold me, yes, I can," she replied.

Kimberly scoffed at the Pokemon hunter's bold statement. "You're acting tough in this situation? Really? In case you haven't noticed, you can't use your arms," she was happy to point out. "What makes you think you can get out of there? Hmm?"

A confident smirk crossed J's face. "Watch and learn, brat."

Pokemon Ranger Kimberly didn't like the tone of J's voice. She took a closer look at the woman, trying to discern if there was something she might have been up to. As it turned out, some movement on the right side of J's body did catch her eye. Now she could see the pokeball, and it was dangerously close to freedom.

"Tangrowth, that pokeball! Cover it up, quick!" Kimberly shouted in a hurry.

The Pokemon extended its free arm to wrap around J and her pokeball, but it arrived just a moment too late. J had already forced the widest part of the ball through the vines. After that, popping it out was simple.

"Salamence, rip these vines apart!" J commanded.

Heeding its master's call, the winged beast appeared from within the confines of its pokeball with an angry roar and chomped down on the outstretched arms of Tangrowth. With one good bite from its sharp teeth, Salamence cut right through the organic material.

Kimberly looked on in dismay as the vines loosened and fell away from J's body. Her ploy to capture the Pokemon hunter had been foiled. J dropped to one knee to face the girl, making sure to keep all weight off of her left ankle.

Meanwhile, Tangrowth's ripped arms retracted back to its body. The damage to its limbs wouldn't be a problem thanks to its amazing regeneration capabilities. Almost immediately, the arms re-grew to their normal length. It now had just one teeny problem left to deal with, that being the wrath of the intimidating Salamence standing opposite from it.

"Tch! Maybe you do still have some luck left," Kimberly grumbled at the wanted criminal. "Tangrowth, use Ancient Power!"

Its body starting to glow white, Tangrowth held out its newly regenerated arms and a silver ball of energy began to form between them.

"Salamence, use Flamethrower!" J countered.

As Tangrowth fired its Ancient Power attack, Salamence shot a stream of scorching fire from its mouth at the ball of energy. The two attacks would collide midway, neither overpowering the other, and with a thunderous blast they canceled each other out.

"Tangrowth, Vine Whip!" Kimberly commanded her Pokemon.

The grass-type Pokemon flung its arms outward, aiming to strike them against the large body of its foe.

J knew that such an attack would barely faze Salamence, and she had an idea of how to use it to her advantage. "Salamence, grab Tangrowth's arm and pull it this way!"

Salamence waited patiently for the right moment to act. One of Tangrowth's arms slapped against its left wing, but it did very little damage. The other arm then came flying toward Salamence's head. That was just what the winged Pokemon was waiting for. Salamence caught the vines in its mouth, exerting enough pressure to keep them there but not break them. It then did as its master had instructed and yanked back on them. Overcome by Salamence's strength, Tangrowth left its feet and went airborne.

"Good!" J complimented her Pokemon. "Now, use Double-Edge!"

Still holding the vines in its mouth, Salamence began running toward the incoming Pokemon, leaving behind a gold trail of energy as it moved. Tangrowth tried grasping at the ceiling with its free arm, but it simply couldn't do enough to slow its momentum. Salamence slammed the full weight of its huge body into the grass-type Pokemon, sending it tumbling back to Kimberly with a significant amount of damage.

"Tangrowth!" the Pokemon Ranger cried. Tangrowth was extremely slow to get up after the vicious shot it had taken.

Salamence had taken some recoil damage from its attack as well, but nothing it couldn't battle through. The bottom line was that J needed Tangrowth out of their way fast so that she could get into her room before Kimberly's reinforcements showed up. If Salamence needed to take some damage to accomplish that goal, then so be it.

"Salamence, finish it off with Flamethrower!" the Pokemon hunter called out.

Kimberly watched nervously as the flames began to build in Salamence's mouth. "Tangrowth, you've got to move! Get up!"

Even as the blast of fire shot its way, Tangrowth still couldn't pick itself up off the ground. This battle was as good as over.

"_Mothim, Protect!_"

The eyes of both J and Kimberly widened with surprise when a Mothim, surrounded by a green barrier, put itself in the path of Salamence's attack and took it head-on. Its Protect move completely nullified the flames, saving Tangrowth from what would have likely been a knockout blow.

"Well, well, well...look who had to come save Kimmie," an amused woman dressed in a Ranger uniform snickered from behind the redhead.

Cringing at the sound of the voice, Kimberly peered over her shoulder with a scowl on her face. "I SO did not need saving, Sheridan!"

Pokemon Ranger Sheridan, who had her waist-length black hair tied into a single braid, had made a hobby of getting her fellow Ranger riled up. "Yeah, uh-huh. Whatever you say," she grinned, turning her attention to J. "We'll save it for later. Right now, we gotta deal with _her_."

Though annoyed by the dark-haired girl, Kimberly nodded in agreement and re-focused on the battle at hand.

On the other side of the hallway, J was even more irritated by Sheridan's arrival than Kimberly was. Instead of taking out Tangrowth and gaining access to her room, she now had another 2-on-1 battle on her hands. And, unfortunately, things were about to get worse.

The two Pokemon Rangers held off on engaging the wanted woman as the sound of heavy footsteps were heard behind them. From around the corner came the four remaining police officers on this mission who weren't presently occupied or indisposed. Among them were two men, both with Growlithe, and two women, each with a Stunky. The male officers lined up to the right of Kimberly while the female officers took up positions to the left of Sheridan.

The 2-on-1 battle had just become 6-on-1.

"J! You're going to pay for what you did to Officer Jenny!" one of the men shouted. Evidently, news of Jenny's injured state had gotten around.

"Nice timing," Sheridan said to the new arrivals. "I hear they've got a nice jail cell picked out for you, J. Looks like you'll be seeing it soon."

Sheridan's brash comments were laughable to the Pokemon hunter. Even against these numbers, J didn't lack confidence in Salamence. Victory was still inevitable. It would just be a bit more annoying to achieve. "It would seem you're seriously underestimating us," she told the black-haired girl. "Let me teach you a lesson about that. Salamence, Hyper Beam!"

As an orange ball of energy formed in Salamence's mouth, the two Growlithe belonging to the other side jumped out in front of their team.

"Growlithe, Flamethrower!" both male officers commanded.

The orange energy beam and the dual streams of fire were unleashed at the same time, and it wasn't long before J's point was made. The Hyper Beam attack tore through the flames and made a direct hit on both of the fire-type Pokemon, knocking them back into the rest of their team where the officers stood. Salamence was just too powerful for them. After taking only one move, both Growlithe were already finished.

Two down, four to go.

Now that they'd gotten a firsthand look at Salamence strength, J's potential captors weren't going to pass up the chance to strike while it was recharging from the Hyper Beam.

"Stunky," the two female officers said together, "...use Screech!"

The piercing sound of the high-pitched noise made Salamence and its master grimace. Pokemon Rangers Kimberly and Sheridan then jumped right in to launch an assault.

"Tangrowth, Ancient Power!"

"Mothim, use Psybeam!"

The dual attacks, a silver ball of energy from Tangrowth and a multicolored beam from the eyes of Mothim, successfully struck Salamence. They weren't without effect, especially the rock-type Ancient Power attack, but Salamence gave no indication of that. The winged beast merely shook off the moves, barely budging from its position.

Now that the Screech attack of the Stunky had ended, the policewomen using them went right back on the offensive. "Stunky," they both ordered, "...hit it with Slash!"

The pair of Stunky charged forth to land some close-range physical attacks.

"Salamence, Dragon Pulse!" J commanded.

Targeting the incoming Pokemon, Salamence fired a turquoise blast of energy from its mouth. Stunky weren't slow Pokemon by any means, but at this short distance there was no way to avoid the attack. Only one of them, however, was hit by the energy ball. That Stunky, overwhelmed by the powerful attack, was blown all the way back into the waiting arms of its police officer. Had it not been caught, it would have flown all the way to the other end of the corridor. Such was the power of J's Salamence.

Stunky's battle was at an end. Three down, three to go.

"Mothim, use Silver Wind!" Sheridan instructed her bug-type Pokemon.

The other Stunky continued on and swiped its claws across Salamence's face, leaving a white trail of energy where it made contact. The attack didn't do much damage, though. In fact, it only appeared to make Salamence more agitated.

As Stunky jumped back to a safe distance, the Silver Wind attack from Mothim came into play when a number of silver crescents from the Pokemon slammed into Salamence's body. Bug-type moves in general weren't very effective against a Salamence, however, and this was no exception. The large Pokemon shot an unpleasant scowl at its foes, not seeming anguished in the least.

"This isn't good. That Salamence is super strong..." Kimberly said. Some nervousness could be heard in her voice.

"Don't worry, we've still got the ace up our sleeve," Sheridan calmly reminded her.

J couldn't hear what the two Pokemon Rangers were discussing, but it wasn't much of a concern. Her goal right now was simple: take out the three remaining Pokemon and get into her room before anyone else showed up. "Salamence, Hyper Beam!" she yelled.

The time Salamence would need to recharge after using Hyper Beam would allow the officers and Rangers another opportunity to do some damage, but first they needed to make it through the attack.

"Mothim," Sheridan called out to her Pokemon, "...use Protect to stop that Hyper Beam!"

Given the reduced chance of success when using Protect consecutively, Sheridan knew she had to be strategic in her use of the move. This was as good a time to break it out as she would get. Mothim again surrounded itself with a green barrier that took the entire beam from Salamence and held up, keeping it from reducing their numbers any further.

Pokemon Hunter J let out a frustrated grunt over the failure of the attack. Mothim's Protect was becoming a real nuisance. J would have loved for Salamence to just attack the ceiling above those standing in her way and watch as it came crashing down on them, but they were all standing right in front of the door to her chamber. The resulting pile of rubble and dirt could be large enough to prevent her from getting inside, or, at the very least, it would likely spill inside the room and keep the door from closing even if she did gain access. Tempting though it was, it simply wasn't worth the risk.

The redheaded Ranger, Kimberly, now took the chance to wear Salamence down some more. "Tangrowth, use your Slam attack!"

Tangrowth's arms shot outward and stretched around the large Pokemon's body. Then, in an impressive display of the strength of its vines, it picked Salamence up off the ground, flipped it upside down and slammed it back-first onto the floor.

"Stunky, Screech! One more time!" one of the officers commanded.

The lone remaining Stunky sent a torrent of sound waves at Salamence and its master again in an effort to slow the winged Pokemon from getting back to its feet.

Salamence wasn't badly hurt, but these attacks were certainly causing a delay for J. Still kneeling behind the last of her Pokemon, the silver-haired hunter had her hands pressed up against her ears to protect herself from the piercing noise Stunky was causing. Once Salamence was upright again, she was going to have it send another Flamethrower Mothim's way. That, she figured, should force the black-haired Ranger girl to use Protect again, only this time there would be a 50% chance of it failing. If Mothim and its Protect move were knocked out of this battle, picking off Stunky and the already weakened Tangrowth would be quick work.

In the midst of her planning, however, J began to feel vibrations coming from the ground around her. She couldn't hear a thing with Stunky's Screech assaulting her ears, but she could definitely feel something. What was it...? It came in regular intervals, almost like footsteps...and it was getting stronger. Did that mean the source was coming closer? Coming from...

"Behind!" J abruptly shouted.

She whirled her body around to see what was approaching. No...what was already here. There it was standing right before her...the massive Rhyperior she once had stored within the base. Its hand was raised and glowing red, a signature of its Hammer Arm attack. It had its sight focused on its target.

J's eyes went wide with alert as the huge arm came flying not at Salamence, but at _her_. She couldn't get out of the way quick enough, not without the ability to push off of her bad ankle. The best she could hope to do was soften the blow. Desperately, J crossed her arms in front of her face. Rhyperior's arm smashing into them was the last thing the Pokemon hunter could remember.

Kimberly, Sheridan and the others let out a collective gasp as the power of Rhyperior's strike sent J flying. The right side of her body collided with the western wall of the base with enough force that her already damaged headset broke apart on impact. Part of the headset's frame would split off and slice into the center of her forehead, leaving an ugly gash from which blood seeped down the woman's face.

J fell to the floor limp, unmoving. She had been knocked out cold.

The Rangers and officers stood gaping at what they'd just witnessed. They were here to capture J, of course, but none of them had planned on using that level of violence to subdue her. For a human being to take an attack like that from a Rhyperior...it was too much. They could only wonder what in the world had made the one controlling Rhyperior think that things needed to go that far.

"Rhyperior, NO!"

From out of the slanted path that J had taken earlier came running Solana. The horrified look on her face made it apparent to her colleagues that Rhyperior's actions were not her idea.

"That was completely uncalled for, Rhyperior!" the blue-haired Ranger admonished her temporary Pokemon. "We already had her right where we wanted her! You didn't need to do that!"

Rhyperior held its head high and gave Solana a look of defiance. There was no remorse in the creature for what it had done to the woman who dared to take it from its home.

"Solana, be careful! Salamence is..." Kimberly tried to warn her fellow Ranger.

As Solana could now see, J's Salamence was back to its feet. Its ire skyrocketed as its eyes wandered over to the sight of its master lying there helpless, a crimson pool slowly expanding next to her bloodied face. The beast turned and glared furiously at Rhyperior.

"Now just wait, Salamence!" Solana quickly intervened, trying to quell the creature's rage. "I'm sorry this happened, but J is hurt very badly right now! If you let us take her, we can get her the medical assistance she needs. You need to trust us though, okay?"

This was a familiar situation for J's Salamence. It had trusted Officer Jenny to bring its master back to life after the incident at Lake Valor, and she had done so. This was different, though. Jenny wasn't the one who had brought down J's ship back then; she wasn't responsible for nearly killing her. These people...these people _were_ responsible for J's current state. There would be no bargaining with them. There would be no mercy shown after what they'd done.

The turquoise glow of Salamence's Dragon Pulse shone from its mouth. As Solana ducked for cover, Salamence shot the attack straight into the chest of Rhyperior. Though an exceptionally sturdy Pokemon, even Rhyperior was knocked off of its feet by the force of the blast. The floor shook as it landed on its back and slid most of the way down the path from whence it came.

The other Rangers and officers could see that negotiating with Salamence wasn't going to work. For the sake of the mission, as well as for their own safety, they were going to have to take the winged Pokemon down.

"Tangrowth, use Bind!" Kimberly instructed the grass-type creature.

"Mothim, Psybeam!" Sheridan followed up.

The last police officer with a Pokemon in the battle joined in. "Stunky, hit it with another Slash!"

Tangrowth's vines wrapped themselves around Salamence's body and constricted, though the effects were minimal. The multicolored beam from Mothim struck Salamence just to the right of its neck, chipping away a bit more at its health. By that time, Stunky was running and already halfway to the large Pokemon, ready to deal another Slash to its face.

Salamence was also ready for another attack. With flames building in its mouth, the beast looked toward the incoming Pokemon and sent a scorching Flamethrower its way. Burning through a number of Tangrowth's vines along the way, the flames engulfed Stunky and threw it back to its commanding officer in a heap of seared fur.

"Stunky! Are you okay?" the policewoman cried. One look at it and she knew it was out of the battle.

The only Pokemon that remained on Solana's team were the three under the command of Pokemon Rangers, and one of them was already preparing to inflict more damage on J's outnumbered Pokemon.

Behind Salamence, Rhyperior was upright again and had two white rings circling its body. The rings broke off into fragments and soon materialized into shards of rock. This was its Stone Edge attack. Now that it was fully ready, Rhyperior launched the barrage of stones toward its enemy, pelting the back and left side of Salamence's body. For the first time, Salamence let what could only be described as a growl of pain escape from its mouth, but fall it did not.

"Look, we're getting to it!" Kimberly said, failing to hide her excitement. She was just about to make her next move when she felt her fellow Ranger nudge her in the arm. "What?"

Still perhaps wondering if she was seeing things, Sheridan pointed a finger down at the body of J. "Look..."

Kimberly squinted ever so slightly as she obliged the suggestion, fixing her eyes on the wounded woman. There didn't seem to be anything unusual...no, wait...J's finger. Had it just...? Yes, it had. And it happened again, this time more than just one of them. J's fingers were moving.

Having somehow found her way back to consciousness, the Pokemon hunter's eyelids began to flutter open. She raised her head just a bit and saw the puddle of her own blood she had been laying in, as well as the pieces of her broken headset next to her. Feeling a sudden rush of pain, she vocalized a light groan and held a hand against her forehead. She knew why the rest of her body hurt, but there was a pounding inside her cranium that she didn't remember being there before. Come to think of it, where was she? And why was she on the floor?

J tilted her head upward and had to look away for a moment. The lights were so bright...she didn't remember them being that bright. Narrowing her eyes enough that she could see, J took in the sight of the group she'd been fighting with before. Strangely, only Tangrowth and Mothim appeared to be battling now. What had happened to that last Stunky?

"Solana, J is awake!" Sheridan called out to the blue-haired Ranger.

The mention of Solana's name made J swivel around and look behind her, down the path she'd taken to get here. Now she noticed Rhyperior's presence. Its massive body took up almost the entire width of the corridor. When had it gotten here, though? J couldn't remember for the life of her. The last thing she could recall was Salamence taking out one of the Stunky blocking the door to... her room...

J's mind was fuzzy. Though she didn't know it, the impact against the wall after Rhyperior's attack had left her with a concussion. She wasn't so clear on what was going on around her, but she did know one thing: she needed to get inside her room. Very slowly, inch by inch, J pushed herself up off the ground and began to crawl toward the door. Kimberly, Sheridan and the officers with them couldn't believe what they were seeing. J was lucky just to be alive after taking a hit like that from Rhyperior, and now she was actually moving around again? Was the woman indestructible?

Naturally, Salamence was extremely relieved to see its master still moving. Watching her gingerly crawling along, struggling with her balance and trying to keep her broken ankle suspended just off the floor, its mission became clear. If J needed to get to her room, it would have to make a path for her.

Letting the flames build inside its mouth once again, Salamence fired another Flamethrower attack. The flames burned away the remaining vines from Tangrowth's Bind and then made a beeline for the grass-type Pokemon itself.

"Mothim, Protect!" Sheridan instructed her Pokemon.

Annoying as ever, Mothim once again put itself in the path of an attack aimed to finish off Tangrowth. Its green barrier took the stream of flames and held up, thwarting yet another attempt to bring down their numbers.

Even with her vision limited due to standing behind Rhyperior, Solana could see J starting to move closer to her room. This wasn't any time to be worried about the silver-haired criminal's injuries. She needed to stop her right this instant before she could get to that door. "Rhyperior, use Hammer Arm on Salamence!"

Rhyperior was still upset over the Dragon Pulse attack that had floored it before. Using that fury as fuel to add to its power, the massive Pokemon stomped forth, its arm glowing a bright red again, and slammed its sturdy limb into the left side of Salamence's body. Amazingly, the forceful attack moved Salamence only an inch from its prior position, but there was no doubt that it had hurt. The winged Pokemon snarled in pain and its left front leg buckled, the most significant sign yet that the damage it had taken was starting to add up.

"Now it's really hurting," Sheridan's optimism began to rise. "Keep it up!"

Salamence wouldn't stay down for long. With flames building in its mouth once more, it straightened out its leg and was quickly back up. Then, somewhat to the surprise of its foes, Salamence faced not Rhyperior, who clearly looked to be its biggest threat, but rather the duo of Tangrowth and Mothim again.

"W-wait, is it ignoring Rhyperior?" Kimberly stuttered. She could see that another Flamethrower was about to come their way. The problem was that Mothim had just used Protect. If it used it again now, there was a reasonable chance it could fail. Something else would have to be done. "Tangrowth, Ancient Power!"

Tangrowth was wearing down, but it still had enough in it to toss the energy sphere Salamence's way. Kimberly was hoping the two attacks would at least cancel each other out and buy Mothim and Rhyperior some extra time to further wear down the winged Pokemon. Such wasn't to be the case, though. The flames of Salamence's attack fought against and then overwhelmed Tangrowth's Ancient Power, blasting right through it and into Tangrowth itself. Blown off of its feet, Tangrowth rolled backwards several times, right past Kimberly and Sheridan who had to jump out of the way, and finally came to a rest sprawled out on its back.

"No! Tangrowth!" the redheaded Pokemon Ranger hurried over to the exhausted Pokemon. There would be no more battling for it today. At long last, Salamence had put Tangrowth away.

Sheridan was becoming concerned for the well-being of she and the others as she watched Salamence take another step closer, keeping the crawling J right in front of its feet so that it could shield her from any harm. Neither the police officers nor the Pokemon Rangers themselves were going to be able to do anything to stop Salamence, so even though they would have liked to stay in front of the door J was inching toward, in the end it would just be an unnecessary risk to their lives.

"Mothim, use Bug Buzz!" Sheridan ordered. She then turned to the officers beside her. "Everyone else, get back! We're too close!"

The officers agreed with that sentiment. Along with Sheridan, they all fell back to where Kimberly and Tangrowth were, which was a good eight feet behind the door's position.

Mothim moved back to where its commanding Pokemon Ranger used to be standing and executed the instruction given to it. Its wings glowed red and its antennae stood on end. From out of the antennae then came a number of red shockwaves that assaulted Salamence with a horrible sound worse than that of Stunky's Screech. Salamence gritted its teeth as it battled through the attack.

"Now, Rhyperior," Solana called out, looking to deal a final, crushing blow to J's Pokemon, "...Horn Drill!"

Appearing unnervingly pleased with the command, Rhyperior began spinning the horns on its head in a drill-like fashion. Eager to dish out some serious damage to the Pokemon that had been ignoring it, the massive creature charged forth and rammed its horn into Salamence's battered left side. The attack was ferociously powerful, enough so that Salamence was launched like a rag doll into the side of the corridor. For the first time, it had been knocked down.

After witnessing the incredible display of Rhyperior's power, everyone's attention now turned to the unprotected Pokemon Hunter J. Despite what had just happened to Salamence, J kept her eyes on the door to her room and just kept crawling. She was getting close now, but the authorities present were going to be happy to do something about that.

"Now's our chance!" Solana bellowed out to her team members. "Pin her down and cuff her hands!"

Solana came from one side, Kimberly, Sheridan, and the four officers from the other, and they all converged on the wanted woman. J was held down and her hands forced behind her back. She tried to fight back, but there was only so much she could do in her condition. One of the officers grabbed his handcuffs and aimed to lock them around J's wrists.

Then, suddenly, a deafening roar...

Salamence was up again, and it was furious. It charged into the group and rammed its head and neck into them, knocking every last person off of J. Knowing they were powerless against the large Pokemon, the officers and Rangers scampered away and took refuge behind Rhyperior.

Not even bothering to look back at the ones who had attempted to apprehend her, J managed to push herself up to her knees again and resumed her slow crawl toward the door.

"Shoot! We were so close!" Solana cursed their misfortune. She hadn't expected J's Pokemon to get up so quickly.

And Salamence wasn't done either. There was an orange hue to its mouth as it prepared to fire another attack, this time a Hyper Beam. Its target? The one remaining creature impeding its master's path to her room: Mothim.

"Oh, no!" Sheridan clenched her hands with concern. "Mothim, Protect! Hurry!"

Mothim heard the order, but it was exhausted and still recovering energy after using its Bug Buzz attack. Though it wanted to bring up the green shield to protect itself, its body simply didn't have the stamina to do so. Salamence fired its Hyper Beam, and it hit. The bug-type Pokemon soared all the way to the base's southern wall about 25 feet away and crashed into it with a loud thud. Rendered unconscious by the forceful attack, it fell face-first down to the floor, defeated.

Pokemon Ranger Sheridan growled in frustration at the sight of her Pokemon's fall. "There just wasn't enough time..." she hissed through her teeth.

"Relax, it's not over yet," Solana assured her.

Indeed, Salamence may have gotten a second wind to protect J, but it was now breathing heavily as it stood guard in front of her. The beast was on shaky legs. It had taken a great deal of damage, particularly from Rhyperior, but it would have to hold out. Its master needed it to.

"Rhyperior, Hammer Arm! Go!" Solana shouted.

The lone remaining Pokemon on its side moved in on Salamence once again with its arm glowing red and held high. Salamence, still recharging after using its Hyper Beam attack, stood its ground. It wasn't going to let Rhyperior get to J no matter what.

Rhyperior reared back and slugged the winged Pokemon in the face this time with its Hammer Arm attack. Jarred by the thunderous blow, Salamence's front legs gave out. The beast's head and the front of its body followed, falling down to the floor.

"We did it!" Solana exclaimed. She was ready to send everyone after J again, but then, astonishingly, Salamence rose.

Mustering everything it had left, Salamence thrust itself upward and back to its feet. It wouldn't go down. It couldn't go down. Not yet.

"You're kidding!" Pokemon Ranger Kimberly said in disbelief. Salamence's toughness was unbelievable.

"We've got other problems, too. Look..." Sheridan said, pointing to the entrance to J's room.

As everyone could plainly see, J's hands were now touching the door. Little by little, she pulled herself up until she was standing—with some help from the door's frame—on her good leg. The moment J pressed one of her fingers to the touchpad on the control panel, Solana and the others immediately jumped forward to interfere. One mighty roar from Salamence, however, would stop them in their tracks.

"We have to stop her!" Solana yelled, the sense of urgency evident in her voice. "Rhyperior, use Hammer Arm again! You have to take Salamence out! NOW!"

Rhyperior didn't have to be told twice. Further incensed that Salamence was still standing after everything it had hit it with, the massive Pokemon reached back to deal one more decimating blow to its enemy.

Salamence, on the other hand, couldn't even gather the energy to counter with an attack of its own. It was giving its all just to stay on its feet right now. Even so, it was prepared to take Rhyperior's next attack. If it could buy its master just a few more seconds, it would be well worth it.

Reaching back, Rhyperior swung its arm downward onto the top of Salamence's head. The winged Pokemon's jaw slammed down against the floor. All four of Salamence's legs gave out this time as it finally collapsed into a heap, its only movement caused by its breathing. It had done an admirable job protecting its master, but it had nothing left. Salamence had been defeated.

Though they would never mention it, Solana and the others were legitimately moved by Salamence's noble display in defending J. It had fought seven Pokemon on its own and managed to defeat six of them, all while protecting the person it cared for most. No matter what side of the law it was on, its showing of guts and determination was admirable.

But the authorities, it seemed, may have taken in Salamence's downfall for a moment too long. All seven of them looked up just in time to see the foot-thick door to J's room sliding open.

"Stop her!" Solana yelled, leading the charge to grab the Pokemon hunter.

J may have been groggy from the hit she'd taken, but she still had the sense to retrieve the creature that had been by her side since she was a child. Stumbling through the doorway, she grabbed Salamence's pokeball and held it out behind her. "Salamence...return..."

As Salamence disappeared back into its pokeball, J slumped down onto the hard, white-tiled floor of her room.

Running as fast as she could, Solana made it to the chamber's entrance at last...just in time to have the door slide shut in front of her face. Irate at her failure, she banged her fist against the thick steel. "NO!"

On the other side of the door, J lay with the front side of her body flat against the ground. Her room was dimly lit by a series of thin lights bordering the ceiling on all sides. Through the heavy door and walls surrounding her chamber, the ruckus being made outside was barely audible over the sound of her own breathing. Things had gotten quiet again.

J's head was turned to the side, her eyes staring at the pokeball in her hand. "Look at us..." she said softly, wincing as a trail of blood from her forehead threatened to make its way into her right eye. "Look at what's...become of us, Salamence. It's all gone...all of it..."

It felt like every muscle in her body ached, but J willed herself up off the floor and slowly started dragging herself over to her bed near the other side of the room. Little droplets of red fell from her face along the way. Whether they came from her busted nose or from the deep cut she still wasn't entirely aware of, that wasn't clear, nor did it really matter. Either way, she was a physical mess right now that needed a visit to a medical specialist.

Once she was close enough to place one hand against her mattress, J turned herself around and fell back into a seated position against the side of her bed, her legs fully extended along the floor. She then held Salamence's pokeball up to her face again. "I guess there's...no turning back now, is there?" she asked, not looking for any sort of response. After giving the ball one last fond look, she put it back against her waist next to those of Ariados and Drapion.

J took a deep breath to collect her thoughts. Feeling a familiar stinging sensation in her eye, she reached up and wiped some of the blood away from it with her hand. The silver-haired hunter held her palm out in front of her, taking in the sight of the red substance covering her glove and fingertips.

"It's too bad...she's not here to clean it away this time..." J said, a hint of a smile forming on her lips. That's right...she was in a bad way just like this the first night she'd had the chance to speak to Dawn. She'd been so annoyed with the girl that night, but now it had become a treasured memory for her. Dawn's act of kindness, selflessly cleaning the blood away from the face of someone she couldn't stand, had started everything.

Now it was J's job to finish it.

The Pokemon hunter raised her head and looked toward the ceiling in the very center of her room. "System voice command mode, activate," she said.

Reacting to the order, a rectangular section of the ceiling slid away and down came a 42" screen suspended from above. The screen flashed on, for now displaying nothing but a white background, and an automated, female-sounding voice spoke up.

_Voice command mode activated. Welcome, J. Awaiting your instructions._

"Display camera zero-one-one," J told it.

_Displaying camera number zero-one-one._

As per its orders, the system brought up a live feed of the requested security camera on the monitor. It was the camera that looked down on the top of the stairwell that led to the hangar, the same area that Officer Jenny had been unceremoniously dropped into earlier. Upon looking over the screen, J wasn't surprised to find that Jenny was no longer there.

"Seems they found her," she said. "I suppose...I can proceed without worry, then..."

J turned to glance at the door as she heard a loud noise all of a sudden. It wasn't the voices of her pursuers, but rather a constant grinding sound...almost as if someone were drilling into the steel in an attempt to get in.

"Display camera zero-zero-three," she instructed the system.

_Displaying camera number zero-zero-three._

The new view that appeared on-screen was that of the scene directly outside J's room, and with it the source of that noise became obvious. The police officers and Pokemon Rangers were all standing back and watching Rhyperior use its Horn Drill on the door.

"So persistent," J muttered to herself.

Drilling through the thick chunk of steel wouldn't be easy, but Rhyperior would be able to do so eventually. It just wouldn't get the time it needed.

"I never thought...I would actually use this..." J uttered weakly. What was about to happen was tough for her to swallow, but it had to be done. "...Execute sequence zero-zero-zero."

_Order received to execute sequence zero-zero-zero. Confirm or abort?_

J closed her weary eyes and sat quietly for a moment to reflect on things. There was only one option to choose in her mind, of course. It was interesting to think about, though...everything that had led up to this moment...everything that was going to change once it was all over.

"Dawn," J said in a whisper, "...you're going to hate me for this. I just hope that someday...someday you'll be able to forgive me..."

With a heavy heart, the silver-haired hunter opened her eyes again and looked toward the screen.

"Confirm."

_Order confirmed. Executing sequence zero-zero-zero._

Outside the room, Solana and the others were anxious, yet unable to do anything as Rhyperior labored to drill through the heavy steel.

"I can't believe even something as big as Rhyperior is having trouble with this door..." Kimberly said in astonishment.

"J probably designed this room to be like a miniature fortress for herself should anything go wrong," Solana suggested. "It's holding up well, but it won't last forever."

While the drilling continued, one of the officers caught sight of three familiar allies rounding the corner to the north of them. "Officer Jenny!" he acknowledged his commander's presence.

Jenny's right arm was draped over the shoulder of one of the officers Solana had sent to check on her. Her left arm, restricted by the pain being emitted from her broken collarbone, was suspended in front of her by a makeshift sling crafted from the belt of the second officer. The fact that she was on her feet at all was amazing in itself. It was that level of toughness that long ago earned her the respect of her colleagues.

Behind those three, Pokemon Rangers Logan and Evan also appeared. They were hurting from the electric shock they'd gotten from the net and embarrassed at having let J get the best of them, but otherwise were in better shape than Jenny was at the moment.

"Where is she?" Officer Jenny immediately asked.

"She's holed up in this room," Solana informed her. "We don't have any way to open it electronically, but as soon as Rhy-"

At that moment, Solana was cut off when a series of red lights began flashing and alarms sounded off throughout the entire base. The system's voice command followed.

_Self-destruct sequence activated. This complex will explode in approximately five minutes. All available doors have been opened. Please exit the premises as quickly as possible. Self-destruct sequence activated..._

The message continued to repeat itself, changing only the remaining time to reflect how much longer everyone had to make their escape.

"Self-destruct sequence?" Solana gasped. "She's going to blow this place up?"

"Solana, we need to get out of here!" Sheridan said in a panic.

The blue-haired Ranger nodded her head. Apprehending J was important, but trying to drag her out of that room wasn't worth risking all of their lives. "Okay, everyone! Make sure we've got all of our people and head for the exit! Get as far away as you can!"

Solana's team understood, but there was one individual who wasn't ready to follow suit. Officer Jenny shoved aside the policeman that had been supporting her and stumbled past Rhyperior to the door to J's room. "J!" she screamed, pounding her right fist into the steel. "What do you think you're doing? You get the hell out here! You hear me? Get out here!"

The others all halted their retreat, many of them sharing unsure looks over their commanding officer's actions.

"Jenny-" Solana started to say, but was quickly interrupted by the woman's yelling.

"J! You open this door NOW! Open it!" Jenny demanded. She started to slump downward as the exhaustion in her body caught up to her. "Damn it...open...OPEN THIS DOOR!"

Solana could see that Jenny still wasn't in any state to be handing out orders. Knowing some action would have to be taken, the seasoned Pokemon Ranger did what she had to do. "Rhyperior and I will take care of this! The rest of you, get going!" she ordered the other members of the team. After a bit of hesitation, they all complied and hurried off. Solana now turned her attention to the frantic officer before her. "Rhyperior, pick her up! And make sure you don't hurt her."

Doing as instructed, the massive Pokemon loosely wrapped its hand around the wounded officer and hoisted her up into the air.

"Hey, you put me down! Put me down now!" Jenny shouted at Rhyperior. That was one request it wasn't going to adhere to.

"I'm sorry, Jenny, but you'll thank me for this later," Solana apologized to her. "Rhyperior, we're getting out of here! Let's hurry!"

With an understanding grunt, the large beast followed Solana en route away from J's room.

"No! Stop! Let...go...of...me!" Jenny struggled within Rhyperior's grasp. She realized very quickly that it was all futile. Rhyperior was just too strong. "J! You are NOT dying yet! You can't do this! J! J-!"

The two dozen police officers and Pokemon Rangers streamed out of the base's open blast doors. Those that had fallen victim to J's liquid adhesive bomb were some of the first to appear after having been freed by their allies. Pokemon Rangers Logan, Evan, Kimberly and Sheridan, as well as their Pokemon and the officers that had been with them outside J's room, emerged next. Solana and Rhyperior, along with Jenny, were the last to barrel out the exit. Everyone ran with every ounce of energy they had left to put as much distance between themselves and the base as possible.

Then, at approximately 2:34 in the morning, the five minutes ran out...

* * *

"Mmm..."

The day of the final round of the Sinnoh Grand Festival opened with a beautiful morning on the shore of Lake Valor. The sun rose in a cloudless sky, shining through the balcony windows of all rooms at the hotel that were facing the lake. Outside one room in particular, a pair of Starly perched themselves atop the balcony's railing and chirped away with a harmonious tune. The sunlight and the noise provided a gentle awakening to one of the two Pokemon coordinators that would be competing on this day.

Stretching her arms out into the air, Dawn sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes. Piplup, who had climbed back onto the bed at some point after falling off last night, was starting to wake from its slumber as well.

"Good morning, Piplup," Dawn greeted her Pokemon with a smile.

Piplup's reply was more of a yawn than anything. "Pipluuuuup..."

As Dawn's mind fired back up after its period of rest, the reality of what this day meant for her began to set in. "It's really here, isn't it?" she said to Piplup. "We're really going to face Zoey today for the title of Top Coordinator. Wow..."

It then occurred to Dawn that the room was awfully quiet apart from her words. Checking on the bed next to her own, she blinked as she found that it was empty and already made. "Where did those guys go?" she wondered aloud. Looking around, she noticed a note sitting on the nightstand between the beds. "Hmm?"

The girl from Twinleaf Town picked up the piece of paper and began reading.

_Dawn, Ash and I thought we'd let you sleep in a little while we went to get cleaned up. If you wake up before we get back, why don't you head down to the bath and do the same? We'll meet up again in the room and go grab some breakfast to start off your big day. - Brock_

"That sounds good to me," Dawn said with a chuckle.

As she reached out to place the note back where she'd found it, Dawn saw something else sitting on that same nightstand. It was the silver earring that J had given her the night before, shining in the sunlight coming in through the glass door. A fond smile crossed Dawn's face as she picked up the small accessory and held it in her hands.

"J..." she spoke the woman's name.

Last night's visit from the Pokemon hunter had been far from uneventful. She had told Dawn the tale of her past, something she may have never revealed to anyone else before. Brock, as fate would have it, had been listening in, which led to a serious discussion with his friend after J had departed. What stood out most of all, though, was the rush of emotions Dawn felt as J suddenly lowered herself close to the girl and tried to kiss her.

J never got the chance to initiate that kiss, Dawn reminded herself. The young coordinator had stopped her. Thinking back, she really did have good reason to do it. Even though she liked J...a _lot_, the woman still captured and sold Pokemon for a living, and that was just plain _wrong_. So why was it, Dawn wondered, that this morning all she felt in regards to the incident was a mound of regret?

Dawn reached up with one hand and lightly brushed the tips of her fingers against her lips. "Maybe...I should have let her keep going..." the girl said softly. She began to blush out of embarrassment after she put that thought into words. There was no denying how she felt right now. She wanted J to kiss her, and continuing to think about it only further gave rise to that desire. "Well, there's always the next time I see her. Today, even! She said she'd be there to watch my match with Zoey, right? So maybe if I win, she'll congratulate me afterward with..."

Looking every bit like a young girl in love, Dawn placed her hands flat against her cheeks and tried to contain her delight at the thought. Piplup wasn't sure what to make of its trainer's behavior, but it soon found itself suspended in the air as Dawn swooped the Pokemon up in front of her.

"This is our big day, Piplup! Are you ready?" the coordinator beamed ecstatically.

Regardless of Dawn's strange antics before, Piplup threw up its flippers and gave her an energetic reply. "Pii piplup!"

Dawn made a trip down to the women's bathing area and took care of her morning rituals, including a bath, brushing her teeth and getting dressed in her usual daily outfit. The contest battle wasn't until the afternoon, so she could save the trouble of putting on her nice dress for later. When she and Piplup got back to the room, Brock was already in there waiting for them.

"Hey, Brock!" Dawn gave a quick wave to her traveling mate.

"Morning," Brock said to her. "_Someone's_ full of energy today."

Dawn couldn't help giggling to herself. "I'm just so excited, you know? Though I'm pretty nervous, too, I guess..."

"I think I know what you mean," Brock smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. "Anyway, Ash is waiting in the lobby. How about we go get some food?"

"Yeah, let's go," the coordinator nodded. "And, hey...thanks again for being so understanding last night, Brock. That really meant a lot to me."

"Don't mention it," Brock replied. "Still...you and J, huh?"

Dawn gave her friend a playful whack on his shoulder. "Cut it out," she laughed.

The two of them left their belongings in the room for the time being and, along with Piplup, headed to the elevator. After riding it all the way down to the bottom floor, the doors opened, granting them access to the hotel's lobby. Ash, who was supposed to be waiting for them, wasn't immediately visible. He was, however, able to be heard.

"Hey, you guys! Come here!" the voice of their third party member boomed throughout the room. He was standing over by a flat-screen television mounted on the wall. "You gotta see this!"

Unsure what their friend could be so adamant about showing them, Dawn and Brock casually strolled over to join him.

"What's up?" Brock asked. Once he got a good look at the TV, he knew exactly what was up. "Whoa..."

On the screen was an aerial shot from high above the ground, looking down on a forest...or what was left of this particular part of it. Trees, bushes and soil had collapsed into a large pit and burned, joining the smoldering steel that had rested beneath it. Plumes of smoke rose from the fiery hole as a team of water-type Pokemon tried to douse the blaze from its edge. It was an awful picture of destruction.

"Oh my gosh, that looks terrible..." Dawn said, directing her eyes to Ash. "Did you hear what happened?"

"Just listen," Ash instructed her.

Dawn looked back to the TV just as the anchorman began to go over the events surrounding the video.

"_Recapping our top story, what you're looking at is a scene from earlier this morning at the base of one of Sinnoh's most sought after criminals, Pokemon Hunter J._"

The moment J's name was mentioned, Brock's heart sank in his chest. He normally wouldn't have felt any amount of concern for her, but things had changed now that he knew just how attached Dawn was to the woman. If something had happened to her...

"_Late last night, a team of police officers and Pokemon Rangers led by Officer Jenny successfully occupied the base, which was completely destroyed by a series of explosions just hours later. Thankfully, we have been told that everyone on Officer Jenny's team made it out of the base safely. Additionally, several members of J's crew have reportedly been taken into custody, and all Pokemon rescued from within the base are already in the process of having their trainers located."_

Brock swallowed hard. He wished that the news anchor had said _all_ of J's crew had been apprehended. At least that way they would know that J was safe. Right now, that word "several" had him feeling apprehensive about what had become of those who weren't caught. Or, more specifically...

_"As for Pokemon Hunter J herself, who was wanted on numerous counts of Pokemon poaching around the Sinnoh region, she was confirmed by those present to have been inside the base during its destruction. At this time, she is believed to have died in the blasts. Again, we will have more on this story as it develops._"

While the news program rolled on to another story, the three trainers stood in front of the television in silence.

Ash, genuinely surprised by the news, was the first to speak. "Wow...I guess that's the end of J," he said, not saddened in the least by the Pokemon hunter's demise. "Can't say I feel sorry for her. She brought it on herself-"

"Ash, stop!" Brock snapped at him.

Startled by the unexpected reaction of his friend, Ash glanced over at him in confusion. "Wh-what?" he asked, not sure what he'd done wrong.

With a noticeably pained expression on his face, Brock slowly turned his body to look at Dawn. He would never forget the heartbreaking sight that awaited him.

At first, Dawn could only stand there in stunned disbelief. It was only after the words "she is believed to have died" echoed in her mind again that reality set in. Her bottom lip quivering, the tears started to flow down her cheeks, and they just wouldn't stop...

* * *

**End of Chapter 11**


	12. Aftermath

_**Capture the Heart**_**  
by rkOujirou**

Author's note: This story is a continuation based on the Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl anime, starting from after the episode "The Battle Finale of Legend!".

Disclaimer: Pokemon is not my idea and I don't own it or any of the characters, obviously.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

"No..."

Dawn staggered backward, her head shaking from side to side in disbelief. All of the excitement she'd been feeling over today's Grand Festival battle with Zoey, all of the anticipation of performing on the biggest stage of them all in front of her friends, her mother, and J as well...it had all been mercilessly crushed upon hearing the news report of what had taken place at J's base of operations. All that remained now was a bitter, heart-wrenching sorrow.

"...no..." the young girl whimpered, cupping her hands over her mouth as the tears continued to spill down her face.

Brock felt terrible for his friend. He could only imagine how much pain she was in right now. He reached a hand out toward her, wanting to help in some way, but he didn't know what he could do. He didn't know what he could say. "Dawn..."

"NO!" Dawn cried out.

Overcome with grief, Dawn ran back to the hotel's elevator and frantically pressed the "Up" button over and over again. The elevator, however, was already in use by someone else. Dawn couldn't wait for it to come back down. She couldn't sit still for that long. Instead, she ran to the building's stairwell and began scaling the steps at a frenzied pace to get back to her room.

Back in the lobby, Ash looked completely clueless after witnessing the peculiar behavior of his female traveling companion. "Brock?" he turned to the former gym leader. "What's wrong with Dawn?"

Brock knew he had to follow Dawn. He still didn't know what could be done for her, but he didn't want her to be alone right now. "Ash, you stay here!" he instructed his friend. "I'm going after her!"

"Huh?" Ash blinked. That definitely wasn't the answer he was looking for. "But, what's-"

"Just trust me on this!" Brock cut him off. He quickly ran to the stairs, and just like that he was gone as well.

Ash stared over at the stairwell's entrance, confused. "What's up with those two?" he wondered out loud. Pikachu, who was perched atop his shoulder, was equally at a loss.

Piplup, who had been left behind, knew exactly what was going on. It may not have shared its trainer's adoration for J, but seeing the sadness on Dawn's face was enough to break its heart as well. "Pipluuup..."

Within the stairwell, Dawn was already up to the 5th floor. Her room was on the 8th floor. The muscles in her legs were starting to burn after the arduous run up the flights of stairs, but she wasn't going to let herself stop until she made it up three floors further.

It wasn't easy, nor was it pleasant, but Dawn made it. Ignoring the exhaustion in her body, she threw open the door that led into the floor's hallway and continued running until she reached her room. Panting heavily, she burst inside—leaving the door wide open—and rushed over to her backpack. Dropping to her knees, she practically ripped open the compartment containing the item she'd come for: the headset that J had given her.

"J? J!" Dawn shouted into the device as she hurried to put it on. "J? Can you hear me? Talk to me! J!"

There was no reply.

Having no idea how to get the device to communicate with others of its kind, she began pressing buttons at random in hopes that one of them would do the trick. "J! Are you there?" she persisted. "Darn it! This piece of junk! WORK! J-!"

Catching up to his friend at last, Brock now appeared in the doorway. The headset of J's that Dawn wore was something he hadn't known about. After what had transpired last night, it was hardly surprising that she had it, though. There were more important things to worry about right now, anyway.

"J? Come on! Say something..." Dawn desperately cried into the device.

Brock shut the door behind him. He didn't want anyone else to see his friend like this. "Dawn..." he uttered her name, looking upon her with pity in his eyes.

The up-and-coming coordinator didn't so much as acknowledge his presence. "Please, J! Tell me you're okay!" she sobbed into the headset. "Tell me they're wrong!"

Approaching the distraught girl, Brock knelt down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Dawn, stop..."

"NO!" Dawn emotionally snapped at him, her tears dripping down onto the floor. "She said she'd come watch me today! She can't be dead! She can't be! J! J-!"

"Dawn, that's enough," Brock said to her.

With those empathic words, Dawn finally broke down. She planted her face against Brock's shirt and she wailed. She wailed uncontrollably. Brock leaned back against the bed and loosely wrapped his arms around the girl. He would stay like this and comfort her until she let it all out. That was all he could do for her right now.

Dawn's seemingly endless tears dripped onto the transparent part of J's headset and then down onto Brock's right pant leg, leaving a wet spot where they fell. Brock considered removing the headset for her, thinking it must have been uncomfortable, but decided against it. The item obviously meant a lot to Dawn knowing where she'd gotten it from. Taking it off might have upset her more, and that was the last thing Brock wanted to do.

The two of them stayed that way for close to ten minutes. It was only after crying for that long that Dawn attempted to choke some words out from her mouth.

"Why..." the young girl said, her voice muffled by her friend's clothing, "...why did this...have to happen, Brock?"

Brock would be honest in replying to her. "She did a lot of bad things, Dawn," he answered. "The police were always after her. Something like this was bound to happen at some point."

"But she was a good person deep down!" Dawn defended the woman she admired, weakly pounding her fist against Brock's arm. "It wasn't her fault she got into that! It wasn't her fault..."

After listening in on J's story of her past last night, Brock didn't necessarily disagree with that sentiment. He didn't know how much it would help, but there was something he'd picked up from the earlier news report that he felt Dawn should hear. "Listen, I know it doesn't look good, but the news never said for sure that J had died, right? Only that they think she did."

Thinking back on the exact words she'd heard from the television, Dawn sniffled. "Yeah..."

"So maybe it's too early to give up hope, right?" Brock suggested with a slight smile. "Besides, you've still got your big contest battle today against Zoey. Wouldn't J want you to go out there and do your best?"

The question reminded Dawn of something J had said to her during their visit to Balladia Garden. "She told me once..." the coordinator began to tear up again, "...that when you put that much hard work into something, it should be your top priority."

Brock nodded his head in agreement.

Her face red from her lengthy bout of sobbing, Dawn backed away from her friend and rubbed the wetness away from her eyes and cheeks. "Brock...I'd like some time alone. Is that okay?"

"Sure," the aspiring Pokemon breeder replied. "Ash is probably getting hungry. I think we'll go grab breakfast and bring some back for you to eat when you're feeling up to it. Sound good?"

Dawn had no problems with the plan. Once Brock had left, she slid off J's headset and held it out with the transparent part facing her. She then gently pressed her forehead up against it. She didn't want to keep crying, but it was hard not to as the tears forced their way out from behind her eyelids. Her face had become wet again as she pulled away from the device.

Pushing herself back to her feet, Dawn slowly walked over to the desk in the room and placed the headset next to the mirror that sat on the piece of furniture. Still teary-eyed, she reached into her pocket and pulled something out. It was the silver earring that J had given her. Wordlessly, she sat down in front of the mirror and fastened the earring onto her left ear lobe.

Seeing the image of herself wearing J's earring had Dawn starting to cry all over again. "It's to remind me that you believe in me, right?" she wept, her lips quivering. "No...no need to worry, J. I'll give it everything I've got today. For you."

Though still grieving for the one she loved, Dawn willed herself to compete in the finale of the Sinnoh Grand Festival later that day. Before the competitors made their way out onto the stage, she looked through the curtain and scoured the crowd, hoping against hope that she would see J in attendance. There was no sign of her. Dawn and Zoey would put on a show worthy of the Grand Festival's final round. In the end, however, Dawn and her Pokemon duo of Piplup and Togekiss would lose by the thinnest of margins.

* * *

Far from Lake Valor, the site of J's destroyed base was bustling with activity by the early hours of the afternoon. Medical personnel had arrived with mobile treatment centers and were tending to the wounded. Some heavy machinery had also shown up and was now digging through the rubble of the underground facility. The blaze had long since been extinguished, yet the smell of smoke still filled the air.

Those who had participated in the raid on the base the previous night were tired and in need of some rest once things had calmed down. Most of them had already left the area in search of an inn. There were a few, however, that had volunteered to stay and assist in any way that was needed.

One of those who remained was Solana. The Pokemon Ranger was leaning up against the side of one of the medical trucks, watching with her arms folded as an excavator lifted a pile of charred material from the wreckage. Solana had largely stayed out of the way and kept to herself once the fire was under control. It was uncharacteristic for the girl who was known for being energetic and upbeat, but understandable given her lack of sleep and the tension of the situation that had played out the previous night. Those factors weren't the only reasons for her seclusion, though.

Solana had been so deep in thought that she almost didn't notice the feeling of something crawling up her body. "H-huh?" she blinked, her trance broken. Once she felt a familiar warmth against her cheek, an ecstatic smile appeared on the Ranger's face. "Plusle!"

The small, fuzzy Pokemon with long, red ears nuzzled itself against its trainer. Before beginning her undercover mission, Solana had opted to leave Plusle at a safe place. She didn't want her beloved Pokemon anywhere near J if anything were to go awry.

"I had a feeling you two would want to see each other," a male voice said.

"Kellyn! Hey!" Solana greeted the approaching brown-haired boy.

Kellyn, the Top Rank Ranger who had spoiled some of J's plans in the past, leaned back against the truck next to his colleague. "Sorry, I couldn't get away from my last mission quick enough to make it here on time," he apologized. "Looks like I wasn't needed, though. Congratulations."

The joyful expression of Solana after being reunited with her Plusle didn't last for long. Seemingly displeased with Kellyn's praise, her smile disappeared. She turned away from her fellow Ranger and looked out toward the base's ruins again.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Kellyn asked, noticing the girl's demeanor.

"We couldn't apprehend J," Solana replied. There was a heavy tone of disappointment in her voice.

After all the good that had come out of this mission, Kellyn was surprised to see Solana dwelling on the one negative detail like this. "You put her entire crew behind bars, rescued all of the Pokemon inside the base and put an end to J's operation for good. That was the goal, wasn't it? You should be proud!" he tried to cheer her up. "J may not be in handcuffs right now, but she _is_ gone. Thanks to you and the others, she won't be a threat to Pokemon anymore."

Solana bit down on her bottom lip uncomfortably. "Maybe," she muttered.

"Maybe?" Kellyn arched an eyebrow at her.

Unable to keep her troubled thoughts to herself, Solana narrowed her eyes at the wreckage of the base and spoke. "There's something that's been bothering me, Kellyn."

The boy gave his colleague a curious look. "What is it?"

"Before J returned last night, I had some time to look through her database," Solana explained. "I couldn't find any information about her clients like I wanted. I thought that was a little strange, but that wasn't all. What really bothered me was the information she had on the Pokemon Rangers."

"On us? What sort of information?" Kellyn asked.

"Pictures, names, ranks. It's basic info, but that was all they would have needed to identify us," Solana told him. "And they had all of that for every Ranger, even trainees currently assigned to different regions like Hoenn and Johto."

The Top Rank Ranger brought his hand up to his face and began rubbing his chin. "I see," he said, not sounding too concerned. "Well, J probably did have some extensive information networks. It's not that surprising when you think about it."

Solana turned to face him again, her expression deadly serious. "Then why, when she knew about every Ranger down to the lowest rank, was there nothing about _me_ in that database?"

Kellyn looked back at the blue-haired girl. "_There was nothing about her?_" he thought to himself. It was puzzling to him as well. "_But, that..._"

"It doesn't make any sense," Solana insisted. "I had to have been in there at some point, Kellyn. There's no way she didn't know who I was."

"You're right, it does seem odd that she would have nothing about you in there," the brown-haired Ranger had to admit. "But...she allowed you to join her crew. If she really did know who you were, then...wait, are you saying J let you in on purpose? That she knew something like this would happen?"

Solana didn't respond. Her silence was enough of an answer, though. It led Kellyn to what may have been the main point Solana was getting at.

"You don't think she's dead. Do you?" the boy asked.

There was some hesitation to reply on Solana's part as she shook her head. "I'm not sure what I think," she finally said. "I'll tell you this, though...if that _was_ what I thought, I wouldn't be the only one."

Outstretching her right index finger, Solana pointed to a certain spot up ahead and to her right. Kellyn followed the path with his eyes and soon came upon the figure of a female officer. It was Officer Jenny.

Jenny sat cross-legged at the very edge of what used to be J's base. Arcanine lay next to her with its head resting in her lap. The wounded woman had her left arm in a real sling now, replacing the makeshift one that had been fashioned using her subordinate's belt. Her uniform hat was gone, likely buried beneath the rubble, but that was of no consequence to her. It was meaningless compared to what else may lay at the bottom of that mess.

"She hasn't moved from that spot for hours," Solana said of the mission's commander. "She won't say it, but I know what she's thinking. Until they find J's body down there, Jenny won't ever believe she's gone."

The female Ranger's speculation now had Kellyn seriously pondering what had really gone on here. "That's a wild theory you've got there, that J would knowingly give up everything like this," he said to her. "Let's assume for a second that you're right. Why would she sacrifice her entire operation? What would she gain from that?"

Again, Solana could only shake her head. "I don't know, Kellyn. I really don't know."

Next to the remains of the base, Arcanine growled lightly in approval as Jenny began to scratch behind its ear. The officer's eyes never left the sight of the machinery digging through the charred mess. No matter if it took hours, days or even weeks, she wouldn't stop watching. Not until she knew for sure what had become of the silver-haired hunter.

* * *

_Three weeks later..._

Well east of Veilstone City, in the forested area north of Route 222, a lone bicycle fought its way through the thick grass and navigated around the countless trees that stood in its way. A Piplup rode inside the basket between the bike's handlebars, and it wasn't the only thing occupying that space. Next to the Pokemon sat a bouquet of flowers, light blue in color, that were neatly wrapped in a white tissue paper.

The bicycle's rider, still trying to adjust to truly being on her own for the first time, was Dawn.

Three weeks had passed since that fateful day when the news of Pokemon Hunter J's apparent demise had been broadcast on television networks around the Sinnoh region. They had been three long weeks of agonizing quiet. Dawn hadn't seen nor heard from J even once in that time. No official news confirming the woman's death had come out, either. So many questions, and yet no answers.

Though her heart ached over the situation with J, Dawn put on a smile and followed Ash and Brock throughout the remainder of their journey. Being around them, she would find, was a comforting distraction. On most nights, she would go off by herself and spend some time alone with J's headset. Sometimes she would speak into it. Other times she would just sit quietly with it in her lap. All she wanted was to hear something, _anything_ from the device. Just some little morsel of sound that might give her hope that J was alright. But there was only silence. Painful, grating silence.

Dawn had gotten to witness Ash's final gym battle against Volkner, and then his run through the Sinnoh League that included a hard fought victory over Paul. From there, the group would return to Dawn's home in Twinleaf Town, which would mark the beginning of new and separate journeys for all of them. Brock would begin studying to become a Pokemon doctor. Ash would briefly return to Kanto before setting off for the Unova region.

As for Dawn, there would be some thinking to do about what her next venture would be. Right now, she was on her way to Hearthome City after being notified that Hermione, the Pokemon stylist, wanted Buneary to model for some pictures. Dawn had to make one stop before heading there, though. There was a certain place she had gone out of her way to learn the location of; a certain place she felt compelled to visit. What would happen there and what she would see there, she didn't know. She just knew that she needed to go there and see it for herself.

After an hour plus of biking away from civilization and through terrain that wasn't meant for bicycle riding, Dawn passed between one last set of trees and came upon a large clearing that was almost entirely surrounded by forest. Her mouth felt dry as she took it all in. This was it...this had to be it. It was the only spot she'd seen today without any sign of grass, trees or bushes. Yes, this was where it had all happened.

She was at the very spot where J's base once resided.

Piplup climbed out of the basket and surveyed the area for itself. No longer was it anything like the fiery picture shown on television weeks before. The pit that had been created when the base collapsed in on itself was gone. It had been completely filled in with dirt thanks to the Pokemon Rangers, who were concerned that Pokemon native to the area may accidentally fall in and injure themselves. How much material from the ruins of the base had been removed and how much was simply buried, only the police and Rangers knew.

Other than the signs of freshly laid dirt and the lack of greenery over where the complex once sat, there was no visual hint at all that anything had happened here. Something _had_ happened, though. Something had happened that brought one girl's whole world crashing down around her.

Taking the flowers into her arms, Dawn dismounted her bicycle and let it drop to the ground. For a moment she just stood there, staring. It was eerily quiet, the only sound that of a light wind blowing through the leaves of nearby trees. The gentle breeze brushed through the coordinator's hair and up against the flowers she held. Though it was a disconcerting thought, she felt as if she were visiting a grave.

Dawn brushed back her hair, briefly touching the earring that J had given her on the night before her contest battle with Zoey. She'd rarely taken it off over the past few weeks. When she felt ready, she started to walk deeper into the clearing. Piplup followed close behind. The further she went, the tougher it became for Dawn to breathe. Thinking of what took place here created a feeling about this area that was suffocating.

Once she reached the spot that at one time marked the center of the base, Dawn stopped. Slowly, she lowered herself down onto her knees. She reached down, then hesitated, but managed to touch the ground with her hand. She dragged it over the newly laid dirt, watching as the material moved around her palm and fingers.

"Are you down there, J? Underneath all this?" she said softly, able to speak at last.

Bringing her hand back to the item she was carrying, Dawn placed the bouquet of flowers down in front of her, then straightened back up. "It's me, J," she uttered shakily. She was already starting to become choked up. "I guess I don't even know if you're here or not, but I came to see you...just in case you were."

Dawn squeezed her hands together in her lap, trying her best to keep her emotions in check. "I-...I brought some flowers for you. I didn't know what kind you like, so I got these because they were pretty," she said of the floral bouquet. "They're called forget-me-nots. I thought that name made them the perfect choice, you know? I mean...I don't think I could ever...forget you..."

The young girl just couldn't hold it in anymore. Her sniffles turned into weeping and the tears she'd been fighting back this whole time began to roll down her cheeks. "I'm sorry. Every time I think about you, I start to cry like this," she sobbed. She didn't bother to dry her face. "I wish...I wish I'd have known what was going on that night, J. I wish I could have done something about it."

Feeling for its trainer, a saddened Piplup walked up to her and placed its flipper against her back to console her.

"It's too late, though, isn't it?" Dawn's voice shook. "I-...I just wanted you to know that I miss you. And I wish I could see you again so much...because I never got the chance to tell you..."

Dawn leaned forward and planted her hands against the ground. Her tears, now streaming from her eyes, fell and were absorbed by the dirt below. She opened her mouth. There was only one last thing to say.

"...I love you, J."

A sudden gust of wind blew through the area, swaying trees and displacing bits of the loose dirt that covered the ground.

Then, something unexpected. A shadow. It passed over so quickly that one might think they were just seeing things if they happened to catch a glimpse of it. Dawn did notice it, but was too distraught to care what it might be. Her Pokemon, however, was not.

Piplup looked up to the sky in the direction the shadow had traveled. And it saw something. It saw something that made it turn to its trainer and try desperately to get her attention.

"Piplup! Piplup! Pii piplup!" the small, water-type Pokemon relentlessly tugged at Dawn's skirt.

The young coordinator didn't budge, keeping her head facing downward.

Not wanting to let such an important matter go unnoticed, Piplup moved around to where Dawn could see it and began waving its flippers like crazy. "Pii piplup pipluuuup!"

Sniffling, Dawn used her forearm to wipe the tears away from her eyes. She could hear Piplup making a ruckus. Whatever it was getting excited about, she hoped it was important, because this was one time where she really would have liked a few more minutes to herself.

Ready to see what her Pokemon needed, Dawn raised her head...just in time to see a single sunflower—a yellow ribbon tied around its stem—fall from the sky. It passed right in front of her face and made a soft landing at Piplup's feet.

"Huh? A...sunflower?" Dawn blinked as she picked it up, her eyes having turned slightly red from crying. This was strange. She hadn't seen many flowers on the way here, and she definitely hadn't seen even one sunflower. And the ribbon on this flower...it looked like it had been prepared by someone.

Then it hit her. Sunflowers; the same kind of flower that she'd been given after her opening round performance at the Grand Festival. The same kind of flower sent to her by...

Dawn quickly looked up at her Pokemon. Piplup was putting all of its energy into jumping up and down, pointing off to the western horizon all the while. "Piiiplup! Piiiplup! Piiipluuup!"

Could it be? Dawn whisked her head up to look to the sky. "J...?" she mouthed the name of the one she hoped to see.

There was nothing to see but clouds.

Dawn shot to her feet for a better view. "J-!" she yelled the name this time. She looked in every direction, just hoping she could catch even a glimpse of the woman. The numerous trees blocked much of the sky from view, though. If anything were flying around, it wouldn't be long before they disappeared behind them. Either that was the case or there was nothing there to begin with, because the skies, from what Dawn could see, were empty.

Her heart still racing, the girl looked down at her Piplup again. It nodded its head emphatically in response to the question its trainer's eyes silently asked.

Dawn glanced at the sunflower in her hand again, and then back to the sky. Gradually, a smile spread across her face. The tears returned to her eyes, but this time she gladly let them flow. They weren't tears of sadness like before. This time they were tears of joy.

Feeling like an enormous weight had been lifted from her, Dawn clutched the flower to her heart. "I understand, J. You can't see me yet, can you?" she wept happily. "That's fine. It's enough just knowing you're okay."

Dawn wanted to do more. If J was out there, she wanted to tell her something important. Taking a deep breath, she bellowed out into the sky. "J! I'LL WAIT FOR YOU!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "I PROMISE!"

There was no answer, of course, but Dawn didn't need one. She was satisfied. Wiping her face dry one last time, she turned and faced Piplup with an expression of eagerness and excitement—a look her Pokemon hadn't seen in what felt like forever. "Piplup, come on!" she said with enthusiasm. "We've got lots of stuff to do!"

Piplup didn't quite understand what was going on, but it was definitely glad to see its trainer in high spirits again. "Pii piplup!" it gave her a salute.

Dawn led the way back to their bike, not taking her eyes off of the yellow flower. "_I'm going to follow my dreams, J, wherever they might take me,_" the young coordinator thought.

"_And I will wait for you...no matter how long it takes._"

* * *

**End of Chapter 12**


	13. No One But You

_**Capture the Heart**_**  
by rkOujirou**

Author's note: This story is a continuation based on the Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl anime, starting from after the episode "The Battle Finale of Legend!".

Disclaimer: Pokemon is not my idea and I don't own it or any of the characters, obviously.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Inside the arena next to Lake Valor, a girl stood with her eyes closed behind the curtain. Listening. Taking it all in. Thousands of fans who had come to watch today's contest battle were clapping their hands, stomping their feet, shouting in favor of one competitor or the other in anticipation of the final round of the Sinnoh Grand Festival. No matter how many contests she competed in, that rush of nervousness and excitement before stepping out onto the stage never went away.

She loved that feeling. She _lived_ for it.

Four years to the day after her first Grand Festival run in her home region had ended in defeat, Dawn—now 14 years old—had made it back to the finals at long last.

It had been a long road for the coordinator from Twinleaf Town. She'd journeyed through Sinnoh, Hoenn, Johto and Kanto, meeting a number of new people and new Pokemon along the way. Yet, despite her best efforts, there was one thing that had eluded her throughout: the title of Top Coordinator.

Dawn's difficulty in winning the Ribbon Cup was in stark contrast to the success her mother, Johanna, once enjoyed, but most people knew better than to compare their careers. Pokemon contests were more popular now than they were in the days when Johanna was participating. There were more entrants, and with that came tougher competition. Not that Johanna's achievements were ever discounted, of course. It only meant that Dawn was undeserving of any criticism for not living up to the standards set by her mother.

Part of why Dawn had yet to win a Grand Festival may have also been because of a detour in her career path along the way. Two years into her journey, she had received an invitation to study the ways of being a Pokemon stylist under Hermione, the same stylist she'd first met at the Hearthome Collection contest won by she and her Buneary. It was a difficult decision to make, but it was also a valuable and exciting opportunity that Dawn didn't want to pass up, and thus she accepted.

This Grand Festival was Dawn's first since returning from what wound up being a nearly two-year break while studying. Surprisingly, there wasn't any sign of rust when she initially returned to the stage. In fact, the two years off seemed to have only reinvigorated her. In six contests leading up to this event, she had lost only once. That loss came against the same coordinator who had beaten her in the final round of the Kanto Grand Festival two years prior, her last contest before taking her long break. It may have been fate that the same individual was also her opponent here today.

Taking one last deep breath, Dawn slowly opened her eyes. This was it. Another chance for she and her Pokemon to reach their ultimate goal. This time, for sure, they were going to win!

The curtain opened, and Dawn walked out before the crowd to a thunderous applause.

Marian, the event's announcer, began her introductions. "First, entering from my left, it's Dawn!"

Dawn was a picture of focus as she advanced toward the battle area. Her attire—an ensemble she had debuted in the opening round of this Grand Festival—was something she had designed herself several months earlier, and it was quite different from what she had worn in past years. It was made up of a slim dress of light blue color that was tied at the hip by a white sash, along with a pair of white high-heels for footwear. From the thigh down, the dress was slit on the right side, both for style and for better mobility. Dawn's hair, apart from the bangs covering her forehead, was tied back into a ponytail with a white ribbon. The ponytail was then curled and draped over her left shoulder, hanging down to the abdomen area over the front of her dress.

There were two real eye-catchers when it came to Dawn's self-designed work. The first was the unusual sleeves, which were detached from the rest of the garment. Pure white in color, the sleeves were tied just above the elbows and ran all the way to the wrists. What really made them noticeable, however, was that the fabric also hung down over a foot from the bottom of Dawn's arms. It actually extended far enough down that when Dawn's arms were at her sides, the sleeves almost reached her feet.

The second attraction of the dress was the pair of white imprints on the lower left side of its back. Those imprints resembled two sunflowers, one roughly twice as large as the other. It was an inspired idea that had popped into her mind while thinking about someone special to her. Someday, Dawn had thought while trying on the garment for the first time, she hoped she would get the chance to show that special someone the dress that she had designed for this event.

It was a more mature look than the dresses adorned with frills and bows she once wore, but that wasn't the reason for the change in attire. More so than that, it was to show that she had changed during her break from competition. That she now possessed a greater determination than ever before. That the result of her last Grand Festival in Kanto wouldn't be the same as this one. That this time, she wouldn't lose to _him_.

Dawn looked to the other side of the stage, fixing her eyes on the person entering opposite from her.

"And entering from my right," Marian continued, "...it's Drew!"

Drew, already a Top Coordinator, had been the bane of Dawn's contest life from the moment they'd met. Six times they had faced each other and six times Drew had come out on top. Two of those battles were in Grand Festivals, including the finals of Dawn's last Grand Festival in Kanto.

The confident boy's dark green hair was slightly longer than it had been the last time Dawn had faced him. His outfit of choice was a black suit with shimmering purple trim and a red rose pinned to the left chest area. There was a smug look on his face, and Dawn was perfectly aware of why that was. Drew had her number, and he knew it all too well.

The four judges, Mr. Contesta, Mr. Sukizo, Nurse Joy, and Fantina, were seated and ready to go as Dawn and Drew reached their positions on the stage. Unlike the last time Dawn had competed here, the retractable roof was currently open, as it always was when the Wallace Cup took place in the stadium. It was a change that was tested last year to liven up the atmosphere more, and the event's organizers approved of the results. Contests under the sky were no problem for either Dawn or Drew, both of whom had competed in such a fashion numerous times before. This time, they would just be doing it on a bigger stage.

"_You can do it, Dawn!_"

"_I love you, Drew! Good luck!_"

The crowd was full of energy and voicing their support for both coordinators, but Dawn had the background noise tuned out. She wanted this win so badly she could taste it. She knew that her mother was sitting in the front row, watching live in person. Hermione had also said that she would be watching on television from Hearthome City. And Dawn hoped that somewhere, wherever in the world they might be, one other person was watching as well.

"One more time. Eh, Dawn?" Drew said, flashing the other coordinator a cocky smirk.

Dawn exhaled calmly as she continued to stare across the stage at Drew. "One more time," she whispered. Even if Drew couldn't hear it, Dawn knew he could read her lips.

Marian brought her microphone within speaking range again. The competitors were ready. The judges were ready. The fans in attendance were ready. It was time to start the battle. "Five minutes on the clock," she shouted, "...and begin!"

With those words, Dawn tossed her two pokeballs high into the air. "Piplup, Dragonair, spotlight!"

The ball capsules and seals Dawn had used formed a pair of brilliantly shining angel's wings that opened up to reveal the two Pokemon before bursting into a shower of white sparkles. The choice of Piplup was a no-brainer for Dawn. It was her first Pokemon—the one that had been with her from the beginning—and she wanted it to be a part of this battle no matter what. Dragonair, a truly majestic creature, was the evolved form of a Dratini that she had befriended during her last journey through the Kanto region. It was a powerful Pokemon that had adapted well to the contest environment. With its ability to fly and a much greater body size than Piplup, there was always a great amount of potential for some very unique combinations with its smaller ally.

Now it was Drew's turn to unveil his Pokemon. "Roserade, Chandelure, let's go!"

A red rose that initially hid the Pokemon from view exploded into a flurry of red specks of light, and the eager pair took their positions on the field. Roserade had been a favorite of Drew long before he received the title of Top Coordinator, and that hadn't changed. As for Chandelure, it was as rare a sight in Sinnoh as Dawn's Dragonair. It was once just a Litwick that Drew had picked up on a trip to the Unova region. With some training and the assistance of a Dusk Stone, it later evolved into a Lampent and then into a Chandelure. Naturally, Drew had done a masterful job of utilizing its unusual abilities in contests since acquiring the Pokemon.

The stage was set and the clock running. Dawn was going to see if she and her Pokemon had what it took, both to beat Drew and to take home the Ribbon Cup.

"Piplup, Dragonair," Dawn looked to her Pokemon, "...let's do our best, and let's win this! I believe in you!"

* * *

Most everyone in the vicinity of the Valor lakefront was attending the final round of the Grand Festival, leaving the rest of the area unusually quiet. There was a certain woman who wasn't watching the contest battle between Dawn and Drew at the moment, though. Instead, she had gone and found herself a nice patch of grass that overlooked the lake—an ideal spot for a quick nap. And thus, with her hat pulled down over her eyes and her slumbering Arcanine serving as her pillow, the righteous Officer Jenny enjoyed some peaceful shuteye...while she was supposed to be on-duty.

"Jenny, do you copy? Come in, please," a male voice sounded over the radio on Jenny's nearby motorcycle.

Abruptly roused from her sleep, the officer let out an irritated grunt. She slapped her hands over her ears, hoping the one trying to get in contact with her would give up after the first try.

"I know you're there, Jenny. Pick up, already," the voice on the radio persisted.

That was enough to get Jenny to sit up. Her eye twitching with annoyance at the disruption, she lazily slid on the hat that had fallen into her lap and stormed over to her bike. "Jenny here. Go ahead," she grumbled into the radio.

"Oh, good. You're awake," the dispatcher on the other end teased the unenthusiastic officer. "The chief would like you to head to the northern lakefront exit."

"Why? Did someone get a flat tire?" Jenny quipped back at him.

"Nothing so exciting, I'm afraid," he answered, sensing her sarcasm. "Traffic will be heavy once the Grand Festival has finished, so you're going there to make sure everyone leaves in an orderly manner. How does that sound?"

The grimace Jenny now wore said it all. Still, an order was an order. "Wonderful," she muttered. "I got it. I'll head over there."

Jenny slammed the radio back into place. Still bent down over her bike, she turned her body slightly so that she was staring out at the lake. Arcanine, who was stretching its legs after its nap, could hear a soft sigh escape from its trainer's lips. Jenny's transition to normal police duty had never gone as smoothly as she'd hoped and expected. It was frustrating for her on a number of levels. The rest of her family was so good at it, so why did she feel so out of place?

Grudgingly, Officer Jenny fixed her hat so that it was on tight and proper, and then mounted her bike. "Traffic control," a scowl appeared on her face. "Somewhere out there, she's laughing at me."

Then, suddenly, movement. At that moment, the policewoman quickly spun her head to the side and peered out toward the rocky cliffs overlooking the lakefront. What was it? She could have sworn she'd seen something up there out of the corner of her eye. Something blue...no, red? But there wasn't anything there now. Was she just imagining it?

Jenny's eyes kept darting around the cliffs for another two minutes, just trying to catch a glimpse of anything that might stand out. There was nothing to see, though. Nothing out of the ordinary at all. That had become the story of Jenny's life. The only thing she saw in front of her was a stint of routine traffic duty.

Hanging her head in resignation, the officer started up her bike and slapped her hands onto the handlebars. "Come on, Arcanine. Let's go."

Jenny sped off down the road, dejected, and her Arcanine followed alongside her.

Oblivious to the departing officer, something now did begin to move up on those rocky cliffs. It was a Pokemon, and a large one at that. The creature stepped closer to the ledge and looked down on the open arena where the contest battle was taking place. Anxious to fly, it spread its wings fully, but was soon reminded to wait by a black-gloved hand that was placed upon its head.

The Pokemon growled contently as it nuzzled its head against the hand of its master. It wasn't time to fly yet, but soon. Very soon.

* * *

"_Hold on, Drew! You're almost there!_"

"_Hang in there! Don't give up! Come on, Dawn!_"

Inside the arena, the crowd was captivated as the contest battle between Dawn and Drew roared toward its conclusion.

Piplup was riding atop the soaring Dragonair, both of them surrounded by a blue orb of light. Piplup's flipper shined a bright white as it prepared to use its Brick Break attack in tandem with the powerful Dragon Rush of its partner.

On the other side of the field, a round mass of dark purple energy grew between Roserade and Chandelure. The two Pokemon were combining their Shadow Ball moves together to create a super-powered ghost-type attack that might be able to stop their incoming opponents.

"Roserade, Chandelure..." Drew called out to his Pokemon team with a great look of confidence, "...fire!"

At Drew's command, the enlarged Shadow Ball was shot straight at the approaching Pokemon duo.

"Break through it, you two! You can do it!" Dawn shouted encouragement to her own Pokemon.

Dragonair and Piplup, urged on by their trainer's words, crashed into the dark mass of energy. The resulting blast shook the stage and brought an already pumped up crowd to its feet. Which attack had overpowered the other? Within moments, that answer became clear.

From out of the smoke appeared Dragonair and Piplup, only now they were flying backwards. Dragonair tried to regain its bearings as it maintained its flight. Piplup, having been knocked off of the larger Pokemon's head, fell down to the stage and landed flat on its back. The double Shadow Ball had won out, successfully halting Dragonair's advance.

Now, only one minute remained in the battle. Drew, who already had a slight lead in points, had gained some extra breathing room after his Pokemon came out on top in the last exchange.

"_That Drew, he always has an answer,_" Dawn thought, feeling every bit of the pressure her opponent exuded.

Despite her current predicament, there was no panic shown by the young coordinator. This situation wasn't unexpected, after all. Drew had always had the edge late in their contest battles. Now it was time for Dawn to prove that things weren't the same as they had always been.

This was it. All or nothing. Time to go for it.

"Roserade, use Petal Dance on Dragonair!" Drew instructed his oft-used Pokemon, looking to take advantage of the situation before his opponent had recovered. He then turned to the newer addition to his team. "And Chandelure, use Will-O-Wisp on Piplup!"

Both of Drew's Pokemon began to spin rapidly in unison as they prepared for their attacks, a touch of style that wasn't lost on the judges. The first to be unleashed was Roserade's Petal Dance, which sent a torrent of pink flower petals flying up toward the airborne Dragonair.

Dawn was watching everything closely. She and her Pokemon needed to play this just right if they were going to pull off a victory. "Dragonair, use Agility to dodge the petals! Piplup, use Whirlpool!"

With its speed boosted by using Agility, Dragonair not only slid around the incoming petals, but made it look easy. Meanwhile, down on the stage, Piplup tilted its beak into the air and used its Whirlpool attack to create a rotating funnel of water. The spinning Chandelure, now ready to use its Will-O-Wisp, fired a series of light blue fireballs at the small Pokemon. That attack would prove futile, however, as the fire was quickly enveloped by water when Piplup sent its Whirlpool flying Chandelure's way.

The successful defense against Drew's attacks lowered the point total of the green-haired coordinator, cutting the deficit that Dawn now had to make up.

"Good job, Piplup! Now ride that Whirlpool!" Dawn called out to her Pokemon.

As instructed, Piplup jumped onto the raging mass of water as it closed the distance on Chandelure. Dawn felt like her heart was about to beat out of her chest while she waited to see what would happen. This was the moment of truth.

"Hmph. Too easy," Drew gloated. Calm and poised as ever, he snapped his fingers in the direction of the Pokemon with dancing flames on its body. "Chandelure, use Psychic to stop that Whirlpool!"

The entire mass of water slowed to a halt as it became surrounded by a light blue glow, but not before Piplup escaped the situation, using the water to propel itself into the air. That little detail wasn't of much concern to Drew, who was about to watch his point lead increase again. With the water under its control, Chandelure made the Whirlpool burst into a shower of illuminated droplets—a display that certainly impressed the judges.

Drew looked across the stage at the opposing coordinator, hoping to see a somber, defeated expression on her face. What he saw was no look of defeat, though. Quite the opposite, in fact. Dawn raised her head and looked upward, all the while smiling as if she were the one in control.

Curious about Dawn's inexplicably positive attitude, Drew followed her line of sight into the air. What he would see up above the stage was confusing at first, but that confusion quickly changed to concern. Piplup, still hanging in the air after its jump from the Whirlpool attack, was right in the path of a speeding Dragonair. The two Pokemon made contact, Piplup sticking its landing atop Dragonair's head, and they both set their sights directly on Chandelure.

"Now, Piplup! Hydro Pump!" Dawn shouted.

Right on cue, Piplup opened its beak and fired a powerful stream of water down at Drew's Pokemon.

"Chandelure, dodge it!" Drew yelled out with urgency, but there was no time for such action to take place. Aided by the speed of Dragonair, Piplup's Hydro Pump reached Chandelure so quickly that it couldn't avoid it. The blast of water crashed into and overwhelmed the Pokemon that had a weakness to water-type attacks. Chandelure would tumble along the stage floor, finally coming to a stop with its body weakened to the point that it was just barely levitating off the ground.

And the assault wasn't over.

Piplup sprung off of Dragonair's head and back into the air, but the dragon-type Pokemon continued onward. A stream of water now spiraling around its tail, Dragonair pulled up just as it neared the ground and whipped its lower body into Chandelure, knocking Drew's Pokemon high above the stage with an Aqua Tail attack.

"Chandelure, no!" Drew clenched his fists.

As Chandelure rose into the air, Dragonair flew up alongside it. Its body twirling round and round, Dragonair became surrounded in yellow sparks that reflected a beautiful light off of the remaining water droplets from the Aqua Tail.

Seeing that his Chandelure was in serious trouble, Drew readied to send his other Pokemon to the rescue. "Roserade, use Solar Beam on Dragonair! Hurry!"

The flowers on the end of Roserade's arms began to glow a golden color as the Pokemon held them above its head, gathering energy for its strongest grass-type move. Uninterrupted, it may well have been able to stop Dragonair. Unfortunately for Roserade and its trainer, it wouldn't be afforded such a luxury.

Roserade's eyes widened as Piplup, the other half of Dawn's team, suddenly dropped down in front of it, beak open and head reared back in preparation of uncorking an attack of its own.

"Do it, Piplup! Blizzard!" Dawn excitedly urged her Pokemon on.

The crowd couldn't believe what they were seeing as Roserade found itself being barraged by a snowstorm before it could even gather the energy necessary for its Solar Beam. Weak to ice-type moves, Roserade's body began to freeze over, and the golden glow faded from its flowers.

Well above what was happening on the ground, Dragonair then unleashed a huge blast of electricity into Chandelure with its Thunder attack. Half of the stage glowed a bright yellow while the other half was immersed in snow from Piplup's Blizzard. It was an incredible sight for both the fans and the judges.

When the attacks ceased, there was a moment of stunned silence from everyone watching. Chandelure, hit with three consecutive devastating attacks, fell to the stage unconscious. Roserade, caught completely off-guard by Piplup's Blizzard, was frozen in a block of ice.

Shockingly, the battle was over.

"U-unbelievable! What an incredible combination!" Marian's voice echoed throughout the arena. "Ladies and gentlemen, Roserade and Chandelure are both unable to battle! That means the winner of this year's Grand Festival is Dawn!"

Not one person wasn't impressed by what they'd just seen as the crowd erupted in applause for the second-generation Pokemon coordinator. Johanna would join along with them, having to wipe a tear from her eye as she stood and clapped for her daughter. She knew better than anyone how hard Dawn had worked over the years just for this moment.

Amidst the celebration, Dawn still wasn't certain that what had just happened was real. Her mouth agape, she looked up to the stadium's large video screen to confirm it for herself. There were the pictures of herself, Piplup and Dragonair, along with a banner that read, "Winner." It was real, all right. She'd bested Drew, and she'd reached the top of the mountain by doing so. She'd finally become a Top Coordinator.

Dawn dropped to her knees as a pair of cannons at each side of the stage fired blasts of confetti into the air. "We did it," she mouthed breathlessly, watching Piplup and Dragonair coming toward her. "We did it!"

While the Grand Festival's elated victor embraced her Pokemon, Drew looked on from the opposite side of the stage. He was absolutely speechless at what had just taken place. A look of disbelief frozen on his face, the coordinator from Hoenn tried to piece together what had happened in his mind. He had been in control of the battle, right? So how in the world had he ended up _losing_? Where had he gone wrong?

For Drew, it all came back to Piplup's Whirlpool and that strangely pleased expression Dawn wore after Chandelure had done away with the attack. Right after that was where the combination between Piplup and Dragonair had started. That entire sequence...it was clearly something they had planned out and practiced beforehand. Yes, that was it. No doubt about it. Drew had thought that he was increasing his point lead by having Chandelure use Psychic on the water funnel, but that wasn't the case. All he was really doing was taking Dawn's bait. The Whirlpool attack was never meant to hit Chandelure in the first place. It was only intended to serve as a decoy that would distract both Chandelure and its trainer long enough for Piplup and Dragonair to come together and work their magic.

Now that he understood, Drew had to chuckle to himself. "She got me," an amused smile crossed his face. Accepting his defeat, he turned to leave. "Well done, Dawn."

"Drew!"

Hearing his name called, Drew stopped and looked back over his shoulder to where Dawn was getting back to her feet.

"That was a great battle, Drew," Dawn complimented her difficult opponent's effort.

"_Classy as ever,_" Drew silently admired her attitude. "Next time we face each other, we'll be doing it as equals, Top Coordinator."

Drew gave a brief wave of his hand and walked off, conceding the stage to the winner.

Nodding her head, Dawn smiled as she watched him leave. "I can't wait."

Now came the time for the presentation of the Ribbon Cup. Dawn stood excitedly at center stage with Dragonair at her left side and Piplup at her right. Fantina, as was her custom duty, stepped forth to hand the trophy over to the winner...or so everyone thought. In an odd turn of events, she instead stopped and backed away.

"Non, non," Fantina wagged her finger, drawing plenty of curious looks from the others on the stage. "I sink zere is someone bettere to give zis to you."

The eccentric gym leader spun around and walked over to the front row of the audience, where a very familiar figure happened to be sitting. "Johanna," she extended a hand toward Dawn's mother, "...would you do ze honor?"

It was a request met with unanimous approval from everyone, including Johanna herself. "Fantina, I would love to," she agreed.

What followed was a touching moment between mother and daughter. Dawn was practically in tears as Johanna came up to her carrying the trophy. She was Dawn's inspiration to become a Pokemon coordinator to begin with, so to have her present the Ribbon Cup was the greatest honor possible. The new Top Coordinator accepted her prize and then shared a tender hug with her mother, who made sure to let Dawn know how proud she was of her. Dawn would thank Johanna and then thank Piplup and Dragonair as well before waving to the crowd as an acknowledgment that she appreciated all of their support.

"There she is, the newest winner of the Sinnoh Grand Festival! And many thanks, of course, to all of the coordinators who participated in the event and gave us a competition we'll never forget," Marian spoke into the microphone afterward. "Now, how about a quick word with our winner?"

The fans in attendance began to quiet down so that they could hear what Dawn had to say as Marian approached her.

"Dawn," the event's announcer began, "...first of all, I have to ask, how does it feel to finally hold that Ribbon Cup?"

"I...I can't even describe it," Dawn laughed, and the crowd joined with her. "It was always my dream to be a Top Coordinator after watching Mom, so for all of my Pokemon and I to put in so much hard work over the years and finally do it...it's just incredible. I'm so happy right now, and so proud of my Pokemon."

After some brief applause, Marian continued. "You took almost two years off from competition and then had to face Drew in the final round here today, the same coordinator who defeated you in your last Grand Festival appearance in the Kanto region. How nervous were you knowing that you had to go up against him?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm always nervous about contest battles no matter who I'm facing," Dawn had to admit, "...but especially against Drew. He's a really great coordinator, and for us to earn the Ribbon Cup by finally getting our first win against him, that definitely makes this extra special."

"Well, Dawn, you've joined your mother among the ranks of Top Coordinators, and I hear you're starting to turn some heads in the Pokemon fashion industry as well," Marian said, drawing some more laughter from the young girl. "You must feel like you're on top of the world. Is there any way life could be any better right now?"

This time, Dawn didn't immediately answer. Was there any way life could be better? Of course there was. There was something she'd wanted for what felt like an eternity. Waiting and waiting, wondering when she would have it again. Wondering _if_ she would have it again.

Dawn freed one hand from her trophy and brushed her fingertips against the silver earring she wore. Then, a yearning smile playing on her lips, she answered, "Just one..."

*_Rooaaaarrrrrr!_*

Whether on the stage or in the crowd, everyone took notice as the startling sound of a beast's roar filled the stadium, effectively cutting Dawn's interview short. Fans, judges, and coordinators alike all turned their attention to the location of the interruption: the building's open roof.

It descended swiftly. Marian and the judges had to scatter from where they stood, lest they be knocked over by it. Dawn, on the other hand, didn't budge a single inch. She stood firm, even as she watched it land a mere few feet in front of her and felt the rumble from the impact in her legs. Its red wings stretched out on either side of its large body, the creature immediately locked eyes with the girl standing before it.

That creature was Salamence.

"D-Dawn, be careful!" Johanna warned her daughter.

Dawn wasn't afraid, though. Rather than back away, she took a step closer to the imposing Pokemon as a nervous silence fell over the crowd. She and Salamence continued to stare at one another, the Grand Festival and her victory just now quickly becoming among the last things on Dawn's mind. This Salamence...she had to know for sure.

"A-...are you...?" the young girl stuttered, too shocked to even form a proper sentence.

Before Dawn was able to finish her question, Piplup stepped up and appeared at her side. "Pip?" it spoke to Salamence.

The winged beast gave Piplup a brief nod before bringing its focus back to the smaller Pokemon's trainer. It advanced forward, close enough that it could use its head to nudge Dawn in her stomach. The move was strong enough that it knocked Dawn back a step, something that didn't help the concerns of everyone watching the bizarre scene unfold. Now that Salamence was sure it had her attention, it lowered its body closer to the ground and used its head to gesture toward its back.

"_Is it...telling me to get on?_" Dawn silently wondered to herself.

"Piplup pip pii piplup!" Piplup chirped at its trainer. It was pointing one of its flippers at Salamence in a very animated fashion.

Dawn knew what it meant. Her Pokemon was trying to tell her the same thing that she believed Salamence was. Then...this was really...

"Mom!" Dawn's loud tone surprised her mother as she turned to her. The new Top Coordinator took her Ribbon Cup and held it out to Johanna. "Mom, I have to go! Please, will you take care of this for me?"

Johanna wasn't quite certain what was going on, but seeing the urgency in her daughter's eyes right now, she somehow understood. Not asking any questions, she gladly took the trophy from Dawn's hands. "All right, I'll keep it safe until you get back. Go do what you need to do, Dawn," she said with an accepting smile.

Dawn gave her mother an earnest, "Thank you," and then hurried to retrieve her Pokemon. Dragonair would be first as she held out its pokeball. "Dragonair, return!"

Once one Pokemon was put away, Dawn scooped the other up into her arms. "Come on, Piplup!" she said, making a beeline for the waiting Salamence. Her dress wasn't the most fitting thing to be wearing for the ride, but Dawn managed to climb up onto the large Pokemon's back and position herself securely nonetheless. "Okay, Salamence, let's go!"

Dawn didn't want to wait even a second more. She'd already been waiting long enough.

With the perplexed crowd looking on, Salamence flapped its wings and took to the air in a flash, carrying Dawn and Piplup right out through the top of the arena.

"Well...umm...it seems today's winner had to leave us," Marian tried to explain to the audience, "...so, I suppose that wraps things up for the Grand Festival! Thank you all for coming, and I hope we'll see you next time!"

And that was that for the Grand Festival. While the fans began to file out and Fantina tried to press Johanna for information on what had just happened, Dawn and Piplup were high above Lake Valor and speeding to the north aboard Salamence. Dawn didn't know how far they were going, but she hoped it wasn't much further. The anticipation for what she believed may be waiting at the end of the flight was agonizing.

Four years. Even though it felt now like they had passed in the blink of an eye, it really had been a long time. Dawn had thought about _her _a lot over that time. Where was she? What was she doing? Was she okay? When more time had passed, Dawn had to fight off thoughts that she might have been forgotten by that person. But then, right around the same time she would catch herself thinking such things, someone would deliver a single sunflower to her, or she would find one waiting for her wherever she was staying on that particular night. It didn't matter what town she was in or even what region. Whether it was Sinnoh, Hoenn, Kanto or anywhere else, those sunflowers would always find their way to her, and she would know then that she was still on that person's mind.

They were nearing the northern shore of the lake now. An area that often had several boats roaming the waters at any given time during the daylight hours was devoid of activity at the moment. As with the rest of the Valor lakefront, those who would otherwise be out on the lake had gone to watch the contest battle between Dawn and Drew.

The shore had a number of wooden piers with boats docked beside them, but one pier—which they appeared to be flying toward—was empty. Or was it? As they flew closer, something caught the girl's attention. There was a glimmer of sunlight reflecting off of something on that pier.

Someone was standing there at the end of that structure. It was difficult to see at first because they were dressed completely in black clothing, but there was definitely someone there. The identity of that person wasn't immediately clear, though, as their face was hidden by a black helmet. The visor on that piece of headgear was what the light from the sun had been bouncing off of.

Even as Salamence and its passengers flew directly overhead, that black-clad person continued to stare out at the lake, unmoving. Salamence slowed its momentum until it was only hovering, and then carefully sank to the ground where it made its landing on the shoreline.

Dawn was so fixated on the person at the edge of the pier that it took her a moment to realize that Salamence wasn't in the air anymore. Who was it? Her breathing had escalated. Her heart was beating rapidly. She desperately wanted it to be _her_, but she couldn't know for sure because of that helmet they wore.

She was going to find out, though. "Stay here, Piplup," she instructed her Pokemon.

Dawn crawled down from Salamence's back and planted her feet on the shore, not once taking her eyes off of that figure by the lake. Then, slowly, she began walking closer to the pier, studying that unknown individual every step of the way. Black shoes. Black coat with long sleeves. Black gloves that covered the entirety of both hands, fingertips included. All that, combined with the helmet, covered every inch of skin on their body. Whoever this person was, their wardrobe looked to be pieced together with the purpose of concealing their identity in mind.

When she heard the sound of wood beneath her feet—a sound letting her know that she'd stepped onto the pier—Dawn stopped. The sleeves from her outfit swayed in the gentle wind as she quietly stared at the back of the person before her. Why weren't they saying anything? Why wouldn't they turn around? Dawn wanted to hear their voice, see their face, something, anything to let her know whether or not the one standing there was the one she'd been waiting for all this time.

"Four years ago," that person's voice—a female voice—finally came from a speaker near the mouth area of their helmet, "...I made a promise with myself. I wouldn't take this helmet off in front of anyone...not until the day I could see you again."

Lifting their arms up, they placed both hands against either side of the helmet and pulled upward. As the protective headgear came off, the woman's short, silver locks of hair fell back into place. Her arms drifted back to her sides, her right hand still gripping the helmet's underside. Then, at last, she turned her body to face the girl looking at her from across the pier.

As her light blue eyes took in the sight of Dawn for a moment, her lips curved upward into a warm smile. "You've grown."

Dawn could see her face now. No more wondering, no more doubts. It was really her, right there in front of her. Nearly coming out of her high-heels, Dawn ran up to the woman and threw her arms around her. "J!"

That reaction was better than J could have ever hoped for. Letting the helmet fall from her hand, she lovingly embraced the girl back. This feeling...it had been so long since she'd felt something like this.

"I missed you so much..." Dawn's muffled voice trembled against the older woman's coat.

Even J, normally so in control of her emotions, couldn't keep a straight face. The warmth of Dawn's body and the calming scent of her hair were things she'd only been able to dream about for the past four years. "I was always so worried about what you would say when this day came," she tried to keep herself from crying. "I thought you might hate me for disappearing, or that maybe you'd found someone else."

"Of course not!" Dawn was emphatic in her dismissal of the idea. "You're the only one I've ever wanted, J."

The once-feared Pokemon hunter couldn't hold her tears in any longer. After hearing those touching, heartfelt words from Dawn, she could feel a pair of them starting to run down her cheeks. "I'm sorry I took so long," she held the younger girl closer. "You have no idea how hard it was for me to stay away from you all this time."

Dawn and J stood quietly now, just letting the wonderful feeling of each other sink in. They'd waited so long for this moment. Both of them.

"Where have you been?" Dawn finally spoke. "Where did you go?"

Trying to put some distance between herself and Dawn all of a sudden, J placed her hands against the girl's shoulders and stepped away. Dawn was reluctant to let go of her after they'd finally been reunited, but she allowed J to back up without much resistance. There must have been a reason for it, after all.

The sound of paper crumpling could be heard as J reached into a pocket on the inside of her coat. When she removed her hand, she produced three newspaper clippings and held them out for Dawn to take. "I want you to see these."

Not sure what to expect, Dawn blinked as she took the clippings from J's grasp. All three of the articles, she noticed, featured pictures of a trainer with one of their Pokemon. The article headlines were similar, too. They were all about trainers whose long lost Pokemon had found their way back home.

"All of them were Pokemon that I had stolen and then sold during my time as a poacher," J explained, very straightforward about her past actions.

"I...remember hearing about this..." Dawn continued to look over the pictures.

"That Ranger girl who pretended to want to join my crew...I knew what she was planning from the beginning. So before she and the others could compromise my base, I copied the information about my clients and stored it away somewhere safe. Then, once my body had healed from everything that happened the night they made their move, I went to work," the silver-haired woman started to think back on everything she'd gone through. "It took a great deal of planning. My clients were wealthy people whose estates all had formidable security systems. I had to fight past them, retrieve the Pokemon and leave without allowing anyone to get a good look at me. If anyone had proof that I was still alive, this entire plan of mine would have been for nothing."

Dawn didn't know what to say as she listened to the dramatic tale. Perhaps most surprising was that, from the sound of things, the Rangers and officers taking over her base was something that J had allowed to happen.

"I did it, though," J said, her voice giving away the pride she held in her accomplishment. "Some of them had already been let go, likely after my clients had grown bored of them, but I was able to free every Pokemon they were in possession of. It took me three years, Dawn, but I did it."

"Three years..." Dawn tried to wrap her mind around the staggering amount of time. "J, just how many Pokemon did you set free?"

"Over one thousand," the black-clad hunter answered.

Dawn's jaw dropped at the sheer number of them. For her to free that many, she must have been working constantly for those three years. "J..."

"There's more," the woman interrupted, reaching into her pocket again. This time, she pulled out only a single newspaper clipping for Dawn to read.

Taking the piece of paper, the first thing that caught the Top Coordinator's eye was a picture of what she believed was J—the helmet was covering her face in the photo, but it appeared to be the same outfit she was wearing right now—shaking hands with a police officer while a man bound by rope sat on the ground next to them. The headline of the article read, "Mysterious bounty hunter nabs another."

"Bounty hunter..." Dawn batted her eyes, "...you're a...bounty hunter?"

"In the Hoenn region, yes. I was never known very well in that area, so there was less chance of anyone realizing who I truly was," J pointed out. "I've spent the last year hunting down wanted criminals there since I finished my work in Sinnoh. My Pokemon and I still get to have our fun, but this time we're on the other side of the law. Honestly, I wasn't sure you would approve of the profession. You should know that the Hoenn police have been very appreciative of our help, though. We're extremely efficient at it, too. After all, no one knows how criminals think better than I do," she allowed herself to smirk slightly.

Even Dawn, stunned as she was by all of this, smiled at J's last remark. "J...I-" she began to say, but she wouldn't get any further. The Pokemon hunter-turned-bounty hunter surprised her by taking hold of her hand all of a sudden and getting down on one knee. "J...?"

"I'm sorry," J apologized, for what Dawn had no idea. "Even though I freed all of the Pokemon that I stole, I didn't keep records of the trainers I'd taken them from in the first place. With some I remembered and was able to deliver them back home, but others I could only take a safe distance from my former clients' estates and hope that they could find their own way back. And even though I did what I could to right my wrongs, freeing them will never make up for the time they lost with their trainers, either," she looked deeply into Dawn's eyes, asking for forgiveness. "I did what I could, Dawn, but...as for whether or not I did enough, you're the only one who can tell me that."

Dawn, blushing from J's act of holding her hand, found it very hard to speak after hearing all of that. She had always wondered what J was up to while they were apart, but she never imagined the woman had done something to this extent. Freeing all of those Pokemon, helping to clean up the crime in Hoenn, it was unbelievable. There was just one thing that she needed to know. "Why?" she asked, grasping J's hand tighter. "Hunting Pokemon was your life, but you gave it up, and then you did all of this. Why? Why did you go through so much?"

J looked up at the girl with pure adoration. "Why, you ask? Because somewhere along the way, I fell in love with someone," she said softly, "...and I decided that I would do anything I had to do in order to be with her."

Love? J...loved her? Those words took Dawn's breath away. There was always so much unclear about the relationship they shared at first, so to hear J make her feelings known to her was almost surreal.

Overjoyed at the revelation, an emotional Dawn dropped down next to J and wrapped her arms around her again. "You _have_ done enough, J! You've done more than enough," she assured the woman. "Just don't ever leave me again. All I want is to stay with the one that I love, too."

J felt a warmth in her heart like she'd never felt before. Nobody had ever said that they'd loved her, not since her parents had passed away. It was a feeling unlike any other, and those words from Dawn alone made her truly happier than she'd ever been in her entire life.

The two of them stayed in each other's arms long enough for both to get their fill. J was the one who then backed away just enough that she could get a good look at Dawn's face and wipe the tears away from her blue eyes. "You know," she said, brushing back the girl's hair, "...the last time I saw you, I tried to do something, but you stopped me."

Dawn knew exactly what J was talking about. That difficult, spur of the moment choice she'd made the last time they were together on the night before her first Grand Festival had brought on more regret than she ever could have imagined. Regret that she'd had to live with every day since.

"So," J spoke, a hopeful look in her eyes, "...is it okay this time?"

As if Dawn's heart wasn't beating fast enough before, now it was racing. It was incredible. She loved this person so much that just the idea of what J was asking had her feeling like this.

Her trembling lips showing the mix of nervousness and desire that was flowing through her, Dawn flashed a smile at the woman, and then gave her answer. "J," she uttered the hunter's name, shaking her head ever so slightly, "...there was no need to even ask."

And there, on that wooden pier overlooking Lake Valor, Dawn leaned forward, closed her eyes and pressed her lips against J's. The initial surprise of J over Dawn's initiative soon faded, and she closed her eyes as well. In that moment, there was no one else in their worlds but each other. It was an electric, magical feeling the likes of which neither of them had ever experienced—one that neither would forget for so long as they lived.

Once their kiss was broken, the two of them held each other close—Dawn's arms wrapped around J's neck, J's hands pressed against Dawn's back. What they'd just shared together was so intense, so amazing that both were left without words for a few seconds afterward.

"You know," J was the first one to speak, her voice shaking, "...that just made every minute of these past four years feel worth it."

Dawn had to laugh to keep herself from crying again. "I think even if I'd waited for you my whole life, that still would have made it worth it."

Not satisfied with just the one taste that they'd shared, their lips came together again. It was shorter this time. Then one more kiss, also brief. Now they were satisfied. The Pokemon coordinator and the bounty hunter pressed their foreheads together, each staring adoringly into the eyes of the one they loved.

"So, Miss Top Coordinator..." J addressed the girl by her new title.

Dawn had to giggle at the reference to her Grand Festival victory. "You saw that, did you?"

"Mhmm," the silver-haired woman purred, "...and I was wondering what your plans were for the immediate future."

"And why is that, Miss Bounty Hunter?" Dawn playfully quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Well," J smirked, "...I was thinking of taking a vacation from work. Maybe go and see the world a bit," she revealed. "It gets a little lonely being in that new ship of mine all by myself, though. So...would you like to come away with me for a while?"

Seeing the world with J? Just the two of them? There wasn't much debate in Dawn's mind about what her answer to that one would be. "Hmm...I did just win the Grand Festival after all that time, and I was always really busy with the whole Pokemon fashion thing before that," she recalled. "Yeah, I think I've earned a vacation. I'm definitely going!"

Dawn's acceptance of her offer had J noticeably excited. "Let's go. Right now," she suggested.

"R-right now?" the younger girl blinked. "But...I should really tell Mom that I'm taking off first. And, of course, I'd like to take the Ribbon Cup with me. Oh, and then there's the things I left in my locker at the stadium. And the stuff back in my hotel room. And-"

"I get it," J cut her off, sighing quietly. "After waiting for four years, I suppose waiting a few more hours won't hurt."

"Sorry," Dawn chuckled. "Could I get a ride back?"

"You really need to ask? Salamence and I will drop you off and wait for you somewhere safe. I'd go with you, but I don't feel like facing Johanna again right now."

"Ahh, right. That."

And so, they had a plan. J picked up her helmet with one arm, then grabbed hold of Dawn's hand with the other. Following J's lead, Dawn smiled as she laced her fingers between those of the other woman, and they began walking back to the other end of the pier where their Pokemon awaited them. Hand-in-hand. Together.

"Once I get my stuff, you'll have to tell me how you got out of your base that day it exploded," Dawn said, recalling an important detail of J's story that she hadn't heard yet.

"Oh, that?" J acted as though it weren't any big deal. "Mmm...it might take some time..."

Shrugging her shoulders, Dawn leaned up against J's arm and held onto it tightly. "No need to worry," she winked up at her. "We've got all the time in the world."

* * *

**End of Chapter 13**


	14. Epilogue

_**Capture the Heart  
**_**by rkOujirou**

Author's note: This story is a continuation based on the Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl anime, starting from after the episode "The Battle Finale of Legend!".

Disclaimer: Pokemon is not my idea and I don't own it or any of the characters, obviously.

.

**A/N:** After a little over two years, we've finally reached the end of the story. Before we begin, I have a need in my heart to thank everyone that's been following along and anyone who commented on the story along the way. You guys inspired me and really helped to keep me going on this thing, so thank you.

I wasn't exactly sure where I was going with this story after the first chapter, or even _if_ I would go anywhere with it. I ended up continuing on, though, and I'm really glad I did, because this has been a fun adventure for me over the last two years. I know it's a little tough to keep J in-character in this type of story, but I hope I was able to do it within reason, and I hope everyone enjoyed the ride as much as I did.

The door is always open for me to write some extra chapters following up on this story, or maybe a prequel dealing with J's early life that led to her becoming a Pokemon hunter, or even another Dawn/J story altogether, but for now this is the end. So, with all that said, enjoy the final installment of "Capture the Heart."

* * *

**Epilogue**

The sun rose slowly over the Hoenn horizon, pouring its light little by little into the window of a secluded house that overlooked the sea. Inside a room on the second floor of that house, two girls remained peacefully asleep. With time, though, the sunlight would win out and convince one of them to awaken. And so, as often was the case, Dawn was the first to stir.

"Mmm..." the young girl moaned, flipping over onto her stomach. As her eyes fluttered open, the first thing she would notice was that her head was resting on the strap of the sleeveless, white tee covering the shoulder of her partner. Dawn arched her head and carefully studied the way the still slumbering woman's silver locks of hair fell over her eyelids and were strewn about her pillow. This was the disheveled morning appearance of the once feared Pokemon Hunter J, and Dawn loved knowing that she was the only one in the whole world who got to see it.

After the years they'd spent apart, few things made Dawn as happy as waking up every morning and seeing J laying there next to her. The notorious woman had been through a lot in those four years she spent on her own. J's escape from her base, which Dawn had asked about once they'd been reunited, wasn't nearly as complicated as the Pokemon coordinator imagined. As it turned out, there was actually a tunnel constructed underneath J's personal chamber within the base. It was designed as a last-ditch escape route should catastrophe befall the complex, and it undoubtedly served its purpose in the end. Despite her weakened state that day, J was able to descend the ladder to the bottom of the tunnel and follow it out, even as the ground shook from the explosions detonating far above her. Once she made it to the end, she pushed open the door to a secret exit that had been blocked from sight by tall grass and moss, and she crawled out into an area of the forest where no police officers or Pokemon Rangers were around to detect her presence.

The real trouble for J came in finding someone to operate on her badly broken ankle, and then the three months of self-designed rehabilitation that followed. She had been productive in those three months, though, planning precisely how she would deal with the security protecting the estates of her former clients in order to reclaim the Pokemon she had once sold to them, and all the while doing everything in her power to help her body heal more quickly.

J was always thinking of Dawn, hoping that the mission she was about to undertake would erase all reservations the girl had about being with her. She had said it best the last night she'd seen Dawn before her base had been taken over: it wasn't so easy for a kindhearted person like Dawn to forgive her for all she'd done to Pokemon throughout her life. J was going to try to make up for it, though. If it meant even a chance of being able to be with that girl who had stolen her heart, she would do whatever it took. And she did.

Leaning over by the sleeping woman's face, Dawn gave her a light peck on the cheek. "Good morning," she blissfully whispered to her. The pajama-clad girl hopped out of bed and headed downstairs to take her early bath—the beginning of a busy day ahead.

Dawn had the time of her life throughout the vacation that she and J had departed on several months earlier. Naturally, their first stop was Balladia Garden. After all, J _had_ said she would bring Dawn back there one day to see everything she hadn't gotten to see during their first visit. Once that promise had been fulfilled, it seemed like they traveled everywhere over the following months. From Wailmer Island and Camerupt Mountain in Hoenn to the Mistralton Tower and the Sword of the Vale in Unova, and then from Blue Moon Falls and Silver Town in Johto to Rota and the Tree of Beginning in Kanto, they had witnessed some absolutely amazing things together.

Eventually, although traveling around the world was immensely fun for her, Dawn decided that she was ready to get back to normal life, and J was in full compliance with her wishes. Dawn wasn't going to leave J's side, though. She didn't ever want to leave her again, and that was how they came to live at this out-of-the-way house that sat on the peninsula south of Lilycove City in the Hoenn region. The home—two stories high and painted white with navy blue window shutters—had been where J lived while starting her new profession as a bounty hunter the previous year. It was a cozy place—not too big, but spacious enough for both of their needs. J had, of course, installed all sorts of security measures around the property. She insisted that she was only being cautious, but Dawn sometimes wondered if the woman was slightly paranoid—not that she could blame her after the sort of life J had lived.

For Dawn's needs, there was a large desk at the side of the living room with a perfect window view of the sea in front of it—an ideal spot to sketch her Pokemon clothing designs. Her Ribbon Cup from the Sinnoh Grand Festival was proudly displayed atop a mantle along the same wall. There was also plenty of grassland outside where she and her Pokemon could train for upcoming contests. Dawn already had one contest ribbon, and she had every intention of entering the Hoenn Grand Festival again as soon as she accumulated five.

Once she was finished with her bath, Dawn—who had slipped on a pink bathrobe—was ready to cook up some breakfast. Her wet hair tied up in a towel, she walked past her desk in the living room and headed for the kitchen.

"_Pmmplmppmmppmmmplmmmp!_"

Dawn jumped back as she nearly walked into a squirming mass of white thread hanging from the kitchen ceiling. "Wh-what the-?" she stammered. Given that there was a blue forehead and a pair of very annoyed looking eyes sticking out from the bottom of the thread, it didn't take long to understand what was going on here. Apparently, one of J's more mischievous Pokemon had been having some fun with Piplup. "Ariados..." Dawn grumbled. Sharing in Piplup's annoyance, she tore her Pokemon down from the ceiling and began pulling Ariados' threads away from it.

"Piplup pii piplup pip piplup!"

"I know, Piplup, I-"

"Pii piplup pip pipluuuup!"

"Okay, just calm down for a-"

"PIPLUP PIIIII PIPLUP PIP!"

"I swear, I'll talk to J about it again, okay?"

It was then that the offending Pokemon reappeared as Ariados skittered in front of the doorway leading back into the living room. "Ariaa!" it wiggled its front legs in the air, almost seeming to be laughing at Piplup's misfortune.

"Piiii piplup pip pipluuuuup!" Dawn's small Pokemon immediately leaped down from her hands and gave chase to the creature. Ariados must have been enjoying itself, because this was becoming a more frequent occurrence around the household.

Both Pokemon soon disappeared into another room, and Dawn could only rub her head at the whole thing. "Everything was so nice and quiet, too...eep!"

The Top Coordinator was startled when a pair of arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her waist from behind. "Morning," a woman's voice said, and the younger girl felt someone's lips kissing her on the ear.

"J! You scared me," Dawn laughed at first, but quickly remembered what had just happened with Piplup. "Hey, we need to talk about Ariados...again...ah!" she tried to say, but J's lips kissing their way down her neck were proving to be very distracting. "I-it's still...hey, stop! That tickles!"

"Was Ariados...*_kiss_*...being bad again?" J asked, starting to make her way across Dawn's shoulder now. "It does...*_kiss_*...like its pranks. I'll...*_kiss_*...talk to it...*_kiss_*...later."

"Be serious about it this time!" the girl from Twinleaf Town tried to be strict. She couldn't stop herself from giggling at J's antics, though. "Jeez, go take your bath! I need to make us some breakfast!"

"Mmm, I suppose. I _do_ love that cooking of yours," J finally relented in her playful assault. Dawn had it easy with Brock around while traveling through Sinnoh, but once she left for Hoenn for the first time, she had to learn to cook for herself. Over four years of practice and helpful tips from her mother later, she was more than capable with fire and a skillet at her disposal. "You need to go to Lilycove City today, right?"

Reminded of her plans for the day, Dawn gave an affirming nod. "Yeah, I finally finished those Kirlia outfit designs, so I want to get them back there right away. I can't wait to see what everyone thinks!"

"I'm sure you'll be praised to no end," the bounty hunter gave her one last smooch on the cheek, then let go of the girl as she headed off to take her bath. "I may have some work of my own to do there."

While J took her leave, Dawn started to worry over that last thing she had mentioned. It always made her nervous whenever J went out on a job. The woman had apparently never run into any dire problems while capturing wanted criminals in the region, but that didn't quell Dawn's concerns much. It was such an unpredictable job and these criminals were desperate to avoid being caught, so who knew what they would do to preserve their freedom?

* * *

Several hours later, Dawn and J were aboard their ship and nearing Lilycove City.

Dawn's attire wasn't a far cry from what she'd liked to wear in years prior. A button-up white blouse with its sleeves rolled up to her elbows hung down over her light yellow skirt. A white pair of boots were her footwear of choice, and, of course, her favorite stocking cap adorned her head. The only piece of jewelry she wore was the silver earring J had given her years earlier. Dawn had offered to return it once its original owner had come back to her, but J insisted that she keep it. The young girl had always treasured the item because it belonged to J, but now that the woman had given it to her, she had a whole new reason to cherish it.

J certainly wasn't dressed for style, looking very casual in white sneakers, dark blue jeans, and a white tank top with a gray jacket over it that looked as though it were the upper half of a jogging suit. The ability to not stand out was going to be key while tracking her target for the day, hence the simple clothing.

The ship they were flying on was the same one that J had used for the last few years, but it wasn't anywhere near as grand as the one she had initially paid Dr. Whittaker to build after her first ship had exploded beneath the depths of Lake Valor. Once she made the decision to end her Pokemon poaching days, J had quietly gotten in contact with the mechanical engineer and altered her order, requesting instead a much smaller ship that could be flown by a single individual. The cockpit seated two, while the rest of the craft was spacious enough to serve as a comfortable home away from home, as it had during J's recent vacation with Dawn. It didn't come without its share of toys, either. The craft had the same stealth capability as her last ship, and she almost always used it—even as they were flying at this very moment. On-board weapons and engine boosters for a quick escape were only a couple of the additional features that were included in the package.

Since J no longer had a crew, she would perform all of the ship's maintenance herself. Sometimes the tasks could be quite extensive, taking a number of hours over a series of days. J would start working on something late in the morning, and then come back to the house in the evening covered in grease from the machine parts. Sometimes when Dawn was looking to take a break from her own projects, she would park herself next to a window or go sit outside and just watch the silver-haired woman tinker away on that ship of hers. Seeing J so focused on something made Dawn happy for some reason, and it inspired her to keep working hard on everything she was doing as well.

Lilycove City was in plain view now, and J landed the ship in one of her usual spots outside the city limits. It was close enough that they could get into the city on foot without a long walk, yet far enough out of the way that no one would see the craft.

Once Dawn had unloaded her bicycle from inside the ship and slipped on her backpack, she was ready to head into town. "Promise me you'll be careful?" she implored the bounty hunter.

"Come on, you know there's no criminal out there that's scarier than I am," J took pride in her belief.

"Maybe, but it's still dangerous," Dawn continued to fret.

Rolling her eyes, J gently tipped the girl's chin upward and planted a quick kiss on her lips. "I promise I'll be careful," she said, conceding to the request. "I'll meet you back here at 5 o' clock."

Dawn wasn't sure how sincere the promise was, but judging by the way she was blushing, she definitely liked how J had gone about giving it. "Okay," she said with a smile. Piplup took its place in the bike's basket, and Dawn started off toward the road that led into Lilycove City. "I'll see you in a bit! Love you!"

Love you. J never got tired of hearing those two words. She watched until Dawn disappeared from sight, then grabbed a couple items of her own from within the ship: the same long, black wig that she had worn to the opening round of Dawn's first Grand Festival once upon a time, and a pair of sunglasses with a little bit of helpful technology built into them. Once they were both on properly, she re-activated the ship's camouflage mode and began to head down the same track Dawn had used.

* * *

Blending in seamlessly with the population of Lilycove City, J would spend hours wandering the bustling area. If she wasn't walking, she was seated on a bench somewhere, simply observing the many passersby. Her information led her to believe that her target would appear in this city today. It was just a matter of having a little luck on her side and being able to pick that person out of the crowd.

The middle of the afternoon had rolled around now. J had just finished scouting one location and was passing by the Lilycove Department Store when she caught sight of an awfully suspicious character. He was a gruff looking man with a lot of facial hair, cheap shades, and a worn down cap, and the metal briefcase he carried in one hand only made him more suspicious. Needless to say, J began tailing him with the utmost care.

"Come on, turn this way..." the silver-haired hunter quietly beckoned, still separated from the man by three other pedestrians. Not even a minute later, J's wish was answered. The man looked back over his shoulder, and the cross hairs on the lenses of J's sunglasses locked onto his face. The high-tech accessory then ran the man's facial profile through a database. The check completed, and the result was a favorable one. His name, Angelo Cesaro, popped up next to him in J's field of view, along with his bounty's status: active. He was wanted on numerous counts of larceny and Pokemon poaching, and a couple of assault charges to boot.

J continued to follow him, first past the entrance to the harbor, and then into a park that sat next to the museum. In the midst of his walk, Cesaro stopped at a drinking fountain to grab a bit of water, and that was when J made her move. She walked ahead and right on past him, but not before discreetly placing a tracking device on his belt. It was barely the size of a pea, and likely something her target wouldn't notice until it was too late. J started down another one of the park's paths and got out of view, then watched as Cesaro proceeded onward.

The setup was completed with flawless execution. Now it was time for J to return to her ship for some special gear.

* * *

Angelo Cesaro would return to his vehicle—a dark green, off-road 4x4 with an open roof—and take the western exit out of Lilycove City, ripping off what turned out to be a fake beard and mustache once nobody else was within view. He then picked up a portable communicator from between the front seats, punched in some keys, and raised the device to his mouth. "It's me. I've got the package," he relayed the good news to his client. "I'll be there in an hour. Have my money ready."

No sooner had Cesaro put down the communicator when a beam of orange energy slammed into the right side of his vehicle, tipping it over and sending its driver flying. The 4x4 rolled three times, finally coming to rest with its wheels sticking straight up into the air. Cesaro—his cap falling off the moment he hit the ground—collected enough dirt and blades of grass in his shaggy, dark hair and clothing that he was covered in it by the time he slid to a stop.

"Ughhh," the wanted criminal groaned. He had no idea what had just hit him. Once he looked up to the sky, however, everything became very clear. Hovering above him were a Salamence and its rider—an individual whose identity was shielded by the helmet they wore. "You...you're that bounty hunter, aren't you?" Cesaro snarled up at his attacker. "Don't you know you're supposed to give a warning shot first?"

"Sorry, you must be confusing me with a police officer. I'm not bound by any code of conduct," J was glad to point out. Her voice was altered to sound male by a device built into her helmet—just one more way to throw off anyone suspicious about who she may really be. She had on the same outfit as when she appeared before Dawn on one of Lake Valor's piers several months ago—an ensemble not differing greatly from what she had worn when she was a Pokemon hunter—but there was a key change to it from before: the colors. What once was all black was now white with deep blue stripes running down the sides and splitting into V's at the ends of her pants and the sleeves of her coat. Even her helmet had been painted in the new colors and fixed with a blue visor. It was a fresh look to reflect the newly found light that Dawn had brought into her life. "Well?" she eyed her prey closely. "Are you going to put up a struggle, or should I just take you in right now?"

Gritting his teeth, Cesaro reached for a pokeball—a clear indication that he had opted for the former of J's options. "Dustox, get that basta-!"

"Salamence, Dragon Pulse!" J wasted no time commanding her winged Pokemon.

Cesaro's Dustox hadn't even materialized from its pokeball when the turquoise glow of energy began to build in Salamence's mouth. By the time the bug Pokemon had appeared, the Dragon Pulse had already been fired. "Dustox, look out!" the criminal warned, but it was far too late. Salamence's attack crashed into Dustox before it even had the time to realize it was coming. After the resulting blast, the smaller Pokemon was left laying unconscious in a crater in the ground.

Cesaro stood gawking, stunned at the incredibly quick defeat of his Dustox.

"Anything else you'd like to try? Some weapons perhaps?" J suggested, almost as if she were teasing him.

"Why, you...!" Cesaro fumed. He did have a weapon or two with him. Unfortunately, they were thrown from the vehicle just as he was. That didn't stop him from scampering around in search of them, though. "Come on! Where did they go? Over here? No. Here! No..."

J was quickly growing tired of watching her target make a clown of himself. Reaching over her shoulder, she grabbed a large, black gun that had been strapped to her back—one that had become a favorite of hers ever since the invasion of her base. "You know what? Forget it," she declared, grabbing Cesaro's attention as she aimed the gun at him. With a loud bang, the gun fired a gray, metallic net that wrapped itself around the wanted man and threw him to the ground.

Cesaro tried to free himself, but it was no easy task. "Damn you!" he hissed as J and Salamence landed nearby. "Let me...out of this...thing...!"

Irritated with the man, J planted the heel of her boot against his forehead and knocked him flat on his back. "Worthless!" she snapped at him. "Of all the scum that I've caught, you have got to be the biggest joke of them all! How are my Pokemon supposed to get any exercise when you're so incompetent that you can't even put up a decent fight against me?"

"Sh-shut up!" the humiliated criminal tried to sit up again, only to have another boot from J knock him back down. "That hurts, dammit! I'm gonna get you for this! I swear, I wi-YEARRRRGH!"

Right in the middle of Cesaro's tirade, the electric current of J's special net kicked in, sending a wave of agonizing voltage through his body. As with all of its other victims, the pain from the net was too much to take. Cesaro passed out, bringing J's latest capture to a close.

J nudged him with her boot a few times to make sure he was really out. "These chases have been getting easier lately. That may have been the easiest one yet," she looked to Salamence, actually disappointed by the lack of excitement. "Maybe we should have let his Dustox try an attack or two."

Feeling as let down as its trainer, Salamence growled in agreement.

"Something to think about for next time, I suppose," J shrugged. "Now then, let's go claim our reward."

* * *

One of the buildings along the northern edge of Lilycove City was its police station. The city's chief of police was...seasoned, to put it politely, and probably a couple of years away from retirement at most. He had long since gone bald on the top of his head, while any hair he had left was of a very light gray color. His mustache, which definitely hadn't been in style for around 40 years, poked out so far on either side of his face that it was impossible not to be the first thing anyone noticed about him. He was a clever man, though, and he'd done an effective job of running the police force that had kept the area safe during his long tenure.

On this afternoon, the chief was in his office with the door closed, slowly thumbing through the performance records of a new transfer to his precinct. "It seems you were quite the standout officer while tracking down this...Pokemon Hunter J, but I see you've had some problems in recent years," he began looking through a particularly unflattering part of the report. "Excessive use of force, failure to comply with a superior's orders, general lack of discipline...do you have anything to say about this, Officer Jenny?"

With her Arcanine sitting at her side, Jenny was standing at attention in front of the chief's desk. There wasn't any issue with her body language, but there was a certain look in her eyes that hadn't been there even a few months ago. Jenny looked...tired. Physically, she was in great shape. It was her mentality that had seen better days. "No, sir. I have no excuse," she answered the older man.

"No excuse, eh? Well, I do appreciate your honesty," the chief said, closing the file on his desk. "Tell me, why did you request to transfer here?"

"I thought a fresh start in a new place would do me some good, sir," Jenny told him. There was a sadness to her voice as she said those words. She just couldn't handle being in the Sinnoh region anymore. Everything reminded her of better times when she had a sense of purpose in chasing down J. By transferring to the Hoenn region, Jenny hoped to leave the past behind and start anew. For the sake of her career, it was the best option available to her.

"Hmm...you may be right," the chief seemed to agree. "Well then, Officer Jenny, as of this moment, you are hereby a member of the Lilycove City police force. Given your recent history, however, I hope you'll understand if I keep you under close supervision for the time being."

Jenny raised one hand up and saluted her new chief. "Of course, sir." It was embarrassing. The proud Officer Jenny, being spoken to as if she were a troublemaker. Considering her performance on the job during her last few months in Sinnoh, though, it was hard to argue otherwise.

"Chief!" another officer of the precinct suddenly burst into the office. "It's that bounty hunter, he's here again!"

"Ohh, he's brought another one for us, has he?" the gray-haired man chuckled to himself.

Though she wasn't familiar with the one they were talking about, Jenny was certainly intrigued. "Bounty hunter?"

"Yes, he's quite impressive," the chief rose from his chair. "Come along. You can get a look at him for yourself."

By the time the police chief and Officer Jenny had gotten outside, the rest of the officers present at their station had already gathered for the transaction. J had dismounted from Salamence, and she had Cesaro—who was conscious, but groggy—handcuffed behind his back and seated on the street. Despite how much J's effectiveness in capturing wanted criminals made the regular police force look less skilled by comparison, the officers acted more like her fan club whenever they got to see her. It was simply hard not to admire the woman—or, as everyone assumed thanks to J's helmet purposely deepening her voice, the man.

The chief stepped forth and approached J, but Jenny didn't follow. The female officer had stopped in her tracks the instant she laid eyes on the bounty hunter. He had a Salamence. And his outfit...sure, it wasn't the same color, and there were some other differences as well, but...the similarities were striking. It couldn't possibly be...could it?

"I see you've come with a gift," the chief, hands folded behind his back, addressed the bounty hunter.

"Angelo Cesaro," J identified the criminal in her altered voice. She placed her foot against the briefcase Cesaro had been carrying, which was sitting on the ground in front of her, and slid it over to one of the onlooking officers. "He was carrying this. I'm sure you'll find something interesting inside."

"Ahh, we've been looking for this man. I'm sure what's in that case will be interesting, indeed," the chief nodded to a pair of his officers, each of whom took Cesaro by an arm and led him into the station. Another followed them with the man's briefcase in hand. "You have our thanks, as always. Will it be the usual bank account?"

"If you please."

"Understood. I'll see to it that his bounty is paid out to you by the end of the day."

One thing remained the same whether J was hunting down Pokemon or criminals: she loved to hear that she was getting paid. "A pleasure doing business with you." And with that, her tasks in Lilycove City had concluded. "If you'll excuse me..."

J wouldn't be able to make her exit so smoothly, though. As soon as she turned around, she found herself face-to-face with none other than Officer Jenny. At some point during the exchange, the policewoman had positioned herself directly between the bounty hunter and Salamence, and she didn't look very intent on moving aside.

Jenny glared into the visor of J's helmet with an intensity that she hadn't displayed for quite some time. This person...she had to know who it was. "Do you ride that Salamence?" she asked the mysterious individual.

"That's right," J answered her. She was keeping her cool perfectly despite the tense atmosphere. "What of it?"

Now the female officer had to think. What did she hope to accomplish with this confrontation? Sure, their voice sounded male, so it wasn't likely. But if this bounty hunter was really _her_, did Jenny want to expose their true identity to the police chief and everyone else? Or...did she just want to know for herself?

"It's awfully rare to see someone who does that," Officer Jenny spoke, sharply eying the one standing before her. "Actually, I only know of one other person."

"Really? I suppose I should take that as a compliment, then," J responded—an answer that was of no help to Jenny. The silver-haired woman looked back over her shoulder at the old man behind her. "This one is energetic, Chief. Where did you find her?"

"The Sinnoh region. I fear she may be a bit too energetic for her own good, though," the police chief gave his newest officer a stern look. "I'll ask that you stand down, Officer Jenny. That person is no concern of ours."

J wore a smirk underneath her helmet as she looked back to Jenny, who was biting down on her bottom lip. "So he says," the bounty hunter added, just to rub it in.

It took an immense amount of restraint for Jenny to keep herself in check. She wanted nothing more than to rip that helmet off of this person's head and put an end to the mystery, but doing so could end up killing her career as a policewoman. No matter the result, it just wouldn't be worth the price she would have to pay.

Brushing past the frustrated officer, J hopped up onto Salamence's back. Before she took off, however, she had a few choice words for Officer Jenny. "I look forward to working with you in cleaning up the Hoenn region," she said, glancing back one last time at her righteous rival, "...Jen."

Salamence lifted into the sky and flew off with its master, and down below, Jenny's face had lit up. There was only one person that called her by that name. Just one.

The police chief, who was watching his newest subordinate from behind, noticed that she appeared to be laughing. "Are you alright, Officer Jenny?"

Jenny raised her head, looking on as the bounty hunter vanished behind the Lilycove City skyline. That something she'd lost a few years ago...it was back. "You know something, Chief," she grinned excitedly, "...I think we're going to like it here."

* * *

With evening nearing in the Lilycove City area, Dawn was seated against a tree with Piplup in her lap near J's camouflaged ship.

The Top Coordinator's day had gone well, but, as always seemed to be the case, she would often find herself distracted and hoping that J hadn't gotten herself hurt. She really did believe in the strength of the bounty hunter and her Pokemon. It was just difficult to keep herself from thinking that something might go wrong. She didn't even want to imagine what it would be like to lose J again.

Starting to bob her right foot up and down out of anxiousness, Dawn peeked at her Poketch just in time to see the digits display that it was 5 o' clock—the exact time J had said they would meet at. "Okay, relax, Dawn. No need to worry," the girl tried to calm herself. "Remember what J said. There's no criminal scarier than her..."

"And I meant it," a familiar female voice spoke from next to the tree.

Inwardly, Dawn breathed a sigh of relief as she looked up and saw a woman carrying a helmet in one hand. "Hey!" she greeted J with a big smile. "I, uh...I wasn't worried or anything! I knew you'd be okay."

"Of course you did," J, her voice dripping with sarcasm, held her free hand out to help the girl to her feet. "The job wasn't any trouble. I didn't even have to break a sweat on this one."

"Really? Maybe you're getting too good for them," Dawn giggled.

"I was already too good for these knuckleheads," J corrected her. After turning off the ship's camouflage, she tossed her helmet inside, then helped Dawn to load up her bike and backpack as well. "So? How were your designs received?"

"Oh, they really liked them! They said I did a really great job at bringing out Kirlia's natural beauty."

"Another success, then. Congratulations. You're going to be awfully famous one of these days, you know. Though, you sort of are already, Miss Top Coordinator."

"Oh, stop. I'm _not_ that famous."

"Really? For someone that isn't famous, you certainly receive a lot of interview requests."

"...Okay, maybe I'm a _little_ famous."

The two girls shared a good laugh as they closed up the back of their ship and prepared to leave.

"That should do it. Ready to head home?" J asked.

Dawn was all set to go, but there was one thing she wanted to do first. "A-Actually, before we go..." she said, looking slightly nervous as she reached into her skirt pocket. She took into her hand a very small, white box with a yellow ribbon tied into a bow atop it, and held the container out to J. "Here. I got this for you."

"For...me?" J batted her eyes at the gift. Even though it was Dawn presenting it to her, she was still surprised by the gesture. After all, it was no exaggeration that J was so young the last time she'd received a gift that she didn't even have a clear memory of it.

Dawn nodded emphatically, eager for the woman to see what she'd gotten her. "Come on, open it!"

The bounty hunter reached out and took the small box from Dawn's hand. Slowly, she untied the ribbon and lifted off the top to see what lay inside.

It was a singular earring. A sapphire earring. Small, circular, not very flashy. It was practically the same size and design as the silver one that had adorned Dawn's ear for the past few years.

"I figured by the one you used to wear that you'd like something simple," Dawn pointed to the silver accessory in question. "I've been wearing your earring for a long time now, so I got one to give to you, too."

J didn't speak right away. She just stared down at the present in her hand, admiring it. It had the same color as the eyes of the girl who had given it to her.

"Do you not like it?" Dawn asked, starting to worry about the silence.

It just wouldn't do to have the girl getting the wrong impression like that. Carefully, J lifted the earring out of the box and held it out to the Top Coordinator. "Would you...put it on for me?"

"Huh? Oh, sure..." Dawn took the item from her. The taller woman leaned down, and Dawn gently fastened the earring onto her right ear lobe. "There, how's that?"

Reaching up by her ear, J brushed her fingertips against her new gift. It was amazing. Somehow, she just kept falling further and further in love with this girl. Dawn was just that special.

The bounty hunter wrapped her arms around Dawn and pulled her into a tight embrace. "I love it. Thank you," she said, nuzzling her cheek against the girl's hair. "I'm going to wear it every day, no matter what."

That silenced any questions Dawn had about J's feelings toward her gift. She really liked it, and that made Dawn happy. The girl tilted her head up, her eyes locked with those of the silver-haired hunter, and soon their lips met. One last show of affection before the ride back.

* * *

After returning home and finishing off a simple dinner, Dawn and J had enough time to head outside and enjoy the sunset from the comfort of their hammock before the sky grew dark.

Nearby, Salamence was grabbing a quick nap in the grass while Piplup, miffed by Ariados' playfulness for a second time today, was off chasing the trickster Pokemon again. J still needed to have that talk with Ariados as per Dawn's request, but it could wait until later. After a day out and about, all she wanted right now was to lay down next to Dawn, relax, and play with her new earring. She really did love her new gift. She loved the way it looked. She loved the way it felt. Most of all, however, she loved that it was Dawn who had given it to her.

Though she hated to ruin the tranquility of this moment, there was a new development that J felt she should let Dawn in on before it became a problem. "I ran into someone I knew today," she said, speaking, of course, of Officer Jenny.

"Someone you knew?" Dawn quirked an eyebrow at the woman. Now _this_ was different. She had always thought of J as more of a loner. Who in the world did she know in Lilycove City? "Like...a friend?"

It was awkward for J to even try to relate Jenny to that term. "Not exactly. If I know her, she may try to track me down."

Now the Top Coordinator was starting to wonder if this was something serious. "Oh. Are we-"

"We'll be okay," the silver-haired hunter quickly answered the question she knew was coming. "If she ever finds us, I'll handle it. I sort of owe her, actually."

"You do?"

"Unfortunately. I'll have to tell you about it sometime."

"Hmm...this sounds interesting. Can you tell me now?"

"Tomorrow maybe."

"Aww..."

It was an unexpected thing that J had brought up, but her insistence that it wouldn't be a problem was enough to put Dawn's mind at ease. There was, however, something that the girl from Twinleaf Town wanted to bring up as well.

"Hey, J?"

"Hmm?"

"I...I want to tell Mom about us."

That declaration was enough to get J to bolt upright into a seated position. "You're not serious...!"

"I am!" Dawn exclaimed, sitting up beside her. "J, you and Mom are the two most important people to me. I don't like having to hide our relationship from her every time we get the chance to talk."

J couldn't help cringing at the very idea of what Dawn was suggesting. "I understand that, but...what am I supposed to say to Johanna? 'Oh, nice to see you. Sorry for my rudeness the last time we met. By the way, I'm infatuated with your daughter, and we're living together!' That is really not something I'd..."

In the midst of her explanation as to why this was a bad idea, J abruptly stopped as she found herself the recipient of an effective pout from Dawn. "You're giving me that look again," she narrowed her eyes at the girl. It really was an impressive expression; equal parts adorable and annoying.

"Pleeeease? Do it for me?" Dawn begged, further deepening that lovable look of hers.

J slapped a hand over her face. She could swear she'd faced off with legendary Pokemon that were easier to deal with than this. Finally, with a resounding sigh, she flopped back against the hammock. "The next time you have a few days free, we will take a trip to the Sinnoh region and tell Johanna in person."

"R-...really? You mean it?"

"Yes, I mean it."

"Oh my gosh, thank you!" Dawn wrapped J in an appreciative hug. "I'm serious, you have no idea how much that means to me."

"Honestly, the things I do for you," the bounty hunter shook her head, draping one arm over Dawn's back. She was already starting to dread that trip to Sinnoh. "I can't even imagine how your mother is going to react."

"It'll be fine. Don't worry," Dawn assured the nervous woman. "Mom is super nice. She'll understand, I'm sure of it!"

Seeing the girl in her arm smiling up at her helped J to relax again. There was no point in fretting over it, she realized. Besides, it wasn't her style. They would just tell Johanna about them, and whatever happened, happened.

"You're right. I'm sure it'll be fine," J conceded. She pulled Dawn closer to her, and the two of them stared up at the orange and red hues in the sky as the sun continued to fade beneath the horizon. "Everything's going to be just fine."

* * *

**The End  
_...for now._  
**


	15. Extra: Definitely Not Friends

_**Capture the Heart  
**_**by rkOujirou**

Author's note: This story is a continuation based on the Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl anime, starting from after the episode "The Battle Finale of Legend!".

Disclaimer: Pokemon is not my idea and I don't own it or any of the characters, obviously.

.

**A/N:** I just couldn't stay away forever. Almost a year after finishing the story, I felt like doing a little more with it, so here's an extra chapter that takes place after the events of the epilogue. There may be more of these to come down the road if I can think up more scenarios worth writing. We shall see.

Oh, and for those who may be interested, the first eight chapters of this story have all been re-mastered over the past half a year or so. The events remain the same, but the quality of writing has been improved upon, so it may be worth checking out.

Okay, that's all. Onward to the new chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

**Extra Chapter 1**

"J! Are you still out here?"

It was another pleasant day in the Hoenn region as Dawn poked her head out the door of the house she shared with J. After heading out on a job and delivering a wanted thief to the Lilycove City police force earlier today, the Pokemon-hunter-turned-bounty-hunter had returned home nearly two hours ago, as evidenced by the fact that her ship was sitting along the side of the house. But, to Dawn's displeasure, she hadn't seen J even once since then.

Noticing that the driver's side door of the ship was still open, Dawn stepped outside. Along the front porch she walked, and then across the grass until she was close enough to peek inside the vehicle. "J?"

Within the ship, there sat the silver-haired hunter, still wearing the white and blue suit she always wore when chasing down bounty heads—sans the helmet, which sat in the passenger seat beside her. A laptop computer that was hooked up to the ship's control system balanced atop J's thighs. She'd been typing away on it with a look of great concentration for a while now, but, with the appearance of someone she was quite fond of, J momentarily ceased her work. "Oh, Dawn," she acknowledged the girl's presence. "What's wrong? Something the matter?"

"No, not really. Just wondering where you've been," Dawn spoke, bringing her eyes to the computer in J's lap. "What are you doing?"

J let out a huff as she looked back to the screen in front of her. "The ship's response time still feels sluggish to me," she said.

"Still?" Dawn asked incredulously. She'd heard this so often from J recently that she was starting to think it was becoming an obsession for her. "Are you sure it's not just in your head?"

"I'm telling you, it's not. I'm going to figure out what's wrong with this bucket of bolts if it's the last thing I ever do," J snorted. Not having a crew to fix these sorts of things for her was a pain, but at least having to perform the maintenance herself provided something to keep her occupied. "Are you done working on your designs for the day?"

"Mmm...I might do a little more later. I just wanted to take a break for a while," Dawn told her. She folded her hands behind her back and leaned over, giving J a look akin to that of a pleading puppy dog. "It's kind of boring on my own, though. I was hoping I'd get to spend some time with someone. Preferably someone who's tall, dashing, and likes to fiddle around with machines. I don't suppose you'd happen to know anyone like that? Hmm?"

J quietly chuckled to herself, amused by Dawn's antics. "Well, how could I ever refuse after that?" she said. After saving her work, she powered down the laptop and set it aside for another time. "Come on, let's go inside and have some coffee."

"Okay," Dawn smiled brightly.

*_beep beep! beep beep! beep beep! beep beep!_*

A shrill noise emanating from a wristwatch the bounty hunter wore put an immediate halt to any and all plans she and Dawn had. With a look of great urgency all of a sudden, J pulled back the sleeve of her coat and eyed her watch, which displayed a map of the area surrounding their home. When first settling into the house, J had set up a series of sensors in every direction to alert her should anyone encroach on the property. The signals her watch was now giving out indicated that something or someone was triggering those sensors.

"We've got company," J informed the younger girl.

"H-huh? Who is it?" Dawn nervously asked. She and J hadn't had a single guest since they'd begun living here, and, as much as she wanted to remain calm, Dawn couldn't help but feel on edge about this development.

J kept focused on her watch, taking note of a pair of red dots that repeatedly showed up side-by-side on the small screen. With each appearance, the dots were coming closer and closer to their home. But, they also gave away a crucial bit of information about the intrusion. "There's only two of them...about the same size," J observed, knowing the individual sensors would be triggered more often if there was a larger party on the way.

"J, what should we do?" Dawn anxiously inquired.

"_You_ hide behind the ship," J instructed her. "They're coming from the front, so you'll be hidden from view there. Just let me handle this."

Dawn had no problem with that plan of action. There were very few people she'd ever met in her life that she believed could cause J trouble in even a two-on-one scenario. She didn't always agree with what J did, but she never doubted that the woman was exceedingly good at it.

While Dawn followed the advice and hurried for cover behind the ship, J dove into a pile of her gear behind the seats inside of it. She knew that, for the sake of their safety, she couldn't take this situation lightly. Whether now or during her time as a Pokemon hunter, she'd always hoped for the best, but prepared for the worst. And thus, when J re-emerged from the ship's interior, she was, indeed, prepared for the worst.

As Dawn peeked out from behind the vehicle, what she saw made her jaw drop. J, remaining seated by the ship's door, had one foot inside and one on the grass outside to keep her balance, and sitting atop her left shoulder was a weapon so large that Dawn initially likened it to a cannon. With a barrel measuring a full foot in diameter, the intimidating-looking creation just reeked of bad news.

"J, are you crazy? That thing looks like it could sink a cruise ship!" Dawn exclaimed in protest.

"Better too much than too little," J justified her choice of weapon. With a quick disabling of the safety, she pointed the barrel toward the approach to their home and stared intensely into its scope. "Get back. They're almost here."

Even before they could see the intruders, J and Dawn could hear the rumbling of an engine that sounded like it belonged to a motorbike. Through the trees it weaved, and before long, it came into J's view—both the bike and an Arcanine that was running alongside it. With the sighting of that particular Pokemon, as well as the wave of greenish-blue hair belonging to the bike's rider, J lowered her gun. The visitor was annoying, no doubt about that, but it was someone she'd been half-expecting to show up one of these days.

As the bike neared their home, Dawn, too, was finally able to get a decent look at the person with her unaided eyes. "J, that's...that's Officer Jenny!" she recognized the woman.

"Not just any Officer Jenny, either," J clarified in a mutter.

With J dead in her sights, Jenny pulled up near the front of the house and switched off the engine to her bike. She dropped the kickstand, dismounted, and just stared for a moment. There it was, right in front of her: that something she'd been needing to see for what felt like an eternity.

"I knew it. It really _was_ you," Jenny spoke, her voice letting on just how consumed she'd been by the question of whether or not J and the mysterious bounty hunter were one in the same. She'd been ninety-nine percent sure that they were, but right now, as she saw J's face for the first time in well over four years, any doubt that remaining one percent represented was erased.

While Dawn looked back and forth between the two women, not sure what exactly was going on, J set her weapon down in the passenger-side seat. She then stood up, exiting the ship completely and giving Jenny an unobstructed view of her. "You know, I could have sworn I destroyed that tracking bug you oh-so-sneakily put on my back when I went to claim my bounty earlier," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "So, do tell...how is it that you managed to follow me here?"

"The one on your back was just to distract you from the one I put on your helmet," Jenny answered her.

Raising an eyebrow, J reached back into the ship and picked up the helmet from her suit. Sure enough, right there on the lower back part of it, a small, white device the size of a pea was stuck onto the headgear. With a miffed grunt, she took the tracking bug, threw it to the ground and stomped down on it. "That's Jen for you," she grumbled. "Have I ever told you how annoying you are?"

"Jen?" Dawn blinked, stepping out from behind the ship now. "You mean..._she's_ the one you told me about?"

"Unfortunately," J confirmed. Since Dawn had asked about the person that J knew and had run into in Lilycove City not so long ago, J had shared with her some of the history between she and Jenny, including why she felt she owed the officer after their run-in during the occupation of her base. Of course, she left out certain details that she felt were unnecessary, such as how she and Jenny had beat the living crap out of one another that night. Dawn seemed to get the idea even without those details, though.

Jenny, meanwhile, hadn't expected anyone else to be here with J, so Dawn's appearance came as quite the surprise to her. "Hey, who is that?" she demanded to know, taking a closer look at the girl. "Wait...aren't you...aren't you that Top Coordinator?"

Unsure of how she should respond, Dawn simply waved to Jenny and managed a smile. "It's...it's Dawn, actually. Nice to meet you," she shakily introduced herself.

Only able to think the worst about why someone like Dawn would be here with J, Jenny shot a furious glare at her old rival. "J! Why is that girl with you?" she snarled, starting to advance toward the woman. Her Arcanine followed close behind.

J was perfectly willing to take the time to explain things to Jenny, but there was a more pressing matter that demanded attention at the moment, that being the area in which the policewoman was walking. "I would stop right there if I were you," J warned her.

"You think you can intimidate me?" Jenny pressed on, ignoring J's words. "Answer me, J! What's going on he-"

"Would you stay put for just a second and listen to me, you hothead?" J interrupted her.

"No, I will not!" Jenny snapped back in response. "You're going to tell me what I want to know right now or so help me I'll-"

*_BOOOOOOOM!_*

As Jenny planted her foot down on the ground, a cloud of a pale tan color exploded into the air around both she and Arcanine. Jenny didn't even have the time to think not to inhale whatever the substance was. The eyelids of both she and her Pokemon began to droop, and the two of them soon collapsed into a forced slumber.

The wind gradually carried the cloud away from the property, after which the driver's side door of J's ship squeaked as it was opened up again. At the time of the explosion, J had pulled Dawn on top of her and shut the both of them inside the ship to ensure that they were unaffected by it. Her quick reaction time had served her well, but the same couldn't be said of Jenny.

"That idiot. I warned her," J shook her head at the sleeping officer.

Dawn's face grew pale as she surveyed the result of what had just occurred. J had cautioned her about going near that spot in their yard before, so when Dawn saw Jenny walking toward it, she knew something bad was about to happen. "J…what…what _was_ that?"

"A mine filled with Shroomish spores. I thought it would be effective for knocking out any trespassers," J briefly explained. "I was right, too. I'll have to invest in more of those things."

"Hey, this isn't the time to be impressed!" Dawn chided her, hopping out of the ship in a panic. "That's an Officer Jenny out cold in our yard! We are in SO much trouble right now!"

Not seeming too worried about it all, J calmly stood up and patted Dawn on her head. "Relax, it'll be fine. This pain in the butt and I go way back," she said, trying to ease the girl's worries. "They might be out for a while, though. I suppose we should take them inside."

J walked over to Jenny, and, with a complete lack of grace, she picked the woman up and draped her over her shoulder. "Jeez, Jen, why are you so light? Doesn't this girl ever eat?" she wondered before turning toward Dawn. "I'll leave Arcanine to you."

"Ehh?" Dawn groaned, not exactly high on her ability to handle the task. "But…but…Arcanine is _huge_! It has to weigh more than I do! How am I supposed to-"

"You'll find a way. I believe in you," J playfully teased the girl as she carried Jenny toward the house.

Dawn could tell that J was having some fun with her. With an annoyed huff, she bent down next to the ground and tried to take Arcanine up into her arms. As she would quickly find out, however, things were just as she suspected; Arcanine was simply too big for her to move on her own. She couldn't even budge the Pokemon an inch from where it lay.

"That J! This is exactly what I was trying to tell her would happen," Dawn grumbled, reaching into her pocket where her pokeballs were contained. "Well, _I_ might not have the muscle for it, but I've got a good friend that does. Mamoswine, you're up!"

* * *

Within the living room of the home J and Dawn shared, there were a pair of sofas facing each other with a coffee table sitting between them. The furniture had come with the place when J first bought it, and she just never had a reason to get rid of it or replace it. In truth, before Dawn had started living with her, she barely spent enough time in the room to notice it. Back then, if she wasn't sleeping or out hunting down criminals, she was too occupied with setting up her security system or working on her ship or doing research to relax around the house.

Since that time, however, the space had become a quaint spot for J and Dawn to spend some quality time together, and one of the twin sofas was where J had opted to dump the sleeping Officer Jenny. Mamoswine was able to bring Arcanine up to the home's entrance and set it down just inside the door, but Mamoswine itself was too big to get through the doorway, so right there slumbering on the floor was where Jenny's fire-type partner remained.

Despite their unexpected company, J and Dawn went about their break as they otherwise would have. Dawn brewed up some coffee for them while J went to change into something more comfortable. After that, the two of them parked themselves across from Jenny on the living room's free sofa.

Minute after minute would pass by, and, roughly an hour after the Shroomish spore mine had gone off, Jenny was still peacefully snoozing away. When J had suggested that Jenny and Arcanine might be out for a while, she wasn't kidding.

Dawn, laying with her head in J's lap and a fashion magazine in-hand, just couldn't bring herself to feel at ease no matter how much she tried. Part of the reason for that was because J's Ariados had perched itself on the armrest of Jenny's sofa and was staring down at the woman as she slept. That Pokemon was such a trickster that it could decide to randomly spit webbing all over Jenny's face at any time. And hoo boy, if Jenny was already in a bad mood, Dawn didn't even want to know what she'd be like if something like that happened.

More so than Ariados, though, it was Jenny's presence that made Dawn nervous. The officer and J weren't exactly acting cordial toward one another upon Jenny's arrival, so even though J claimed everything would be fine, Dawn wasn't so sure. While she lay there using J as a pillow, Dawn continually pulled her eyes away from her magazine to peek over at Jenny, anxiously awaiting the moment when the woman would awaken.

Not one bit seeming to sweat the fact that Jenny was there, J merely sat in place and sipped at her coffee, enjoying the closeness she shared with the younger girl. After catching Dawn in the act of looking over at Jenny numerous times, however, she finally had to say something about it. "You're worrying, and it's painfully obvious," she complained.

Dawn didn't really care about how obvious she was being. She just hoped J was right in saying that she had no reason for concern. "Are you sure this is all going to be okay?" she asked, looking up at her significant other.

"Probably," J offered a shrug of her shoulders. "If not, we'll just find somewhere else to live. No big deal."

As simple as that sounded, Dawn really didn't care for the idea. She'd come to like this place and the scenery around it since moving here, so having to leave would no doubt be disappointing. Trying to keep her mind off of such thoughts, she flipped the page of her magazine and attempted to go back to reading. "Oh, hey…!"

"Mmm? Something interesting in there?" J asked.

Dawn excitedly held the current page up for J to see. "Look! That's the Mawile outfit I designed last month!" she pointed to one of the pictures, beaming with pride. "It looks so good on that Mawile! That's so cool! I can't believe they published it in here."

As J could see, the photo had a full page to itself and also listed Dawn as the designer of Mawile's attire in a footnote at the bottom. "Another step on the road to fame," she said, brushing her finger across Dawn's cheek. "Well done."

In what had become a habit with her, Dawn was cautious about accepting the praise. "You're not going to go into that thing about me being famous again, are you?" she suspiciously eyed the woman.

"What ever could you mean?" J looked away from her, playing innocent. "I can't help it if you're going to become so famous that you leave me one day."

"Ahh! There you go again!" Dawn furrowed her brows in annoyance.

So wrapped up in one another were the two of them that neither noticed when Officer Jenny's eyelids so happened to flutter open. Jenny, still groggy as she first awakened, wasn't entirely clear on what had happened to her. She wasn't sure who it was that she could hear talking nearby, either. One thing she was very certain of, though, was that there was an Ariados staring down at her from above.

Seeing Ariados, a Pokemon she'd always associated with J, helped Jenny to recall exactly what had taken place earlier. Her mood souring after remembering the incident, the officer fixed a sharp glare on Ariados, who, frightened by the look, jumped back and fell from the sofa's armrest right onto Dawn's Piplup, who'd been napping on the floor.

Piplup and Ariados still hadn't quite gotten used to each other yet, and this wasn't about to help smooth things out between them.

"Piplup! Pii piplip pip!" Piplup immediately began squawking at Ariados, thinking the Pokemon had woken it up on purpose.

"Ariaa! Ariados aria!" J's Pokemon adamantly denied any wrongdoing.

"Piplup pip piplup!"

"Ariados aria ariaaa!"

"Piiiii piplup!"

Fed up with Piplup, Ariados spat a serving of its webbing into the other Pokemon's face and ran off. Naturally, an irate Piplup took off after it, and the chase through the house was on.

Meanwhile, Jenny looked to her left where she heard the voices coming from. What she saw at that moment was something so absurd that she wondered if she might be imagining things. Dawn had rolled over and had her arms wrapped around J's midsection, the two of them exchanging playful banter all the while.

"I'm not leaving you."

"Sure, you say that _now_."

"I'm neeeeeever leaving. You're stuck with me whether you like it or not."

"Oh? Really?"

"Mhmm."

"You mean it?"

"Yup."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"Give me a kiss, then."

Dawn was all too happy to oblige the request as she leaned up and pressed her lips against those of J. Neither of them knew yet that Jenny was awake and watching them, but they were sure about to.

Jenny shot up from the sofa, a look of pure bewilderment on her face. What in the _hell_ had she just seen? J, once the most wanted criminal in the Sinnoh region, and Dawn, a Top Coordinator…kissing? And this wasn't just a quick peck, either. This was serious!

As they heard the movement across from them, J and Dawn immediately broke their kiss and turned to see Jenny gawking at them. Their tender moment had been seen, and they both knew it. J didn't seem to care about what her old rival had observed. Dawn, on the other hand, was mortified that she'd been caught acting like that in front of someone. Her face turning a bright shade of red, she quickly rolled off of J and took a seat next to her on the sofa.

"S-s-sorry! I'm so sorry about that! I-I didn't know you were up!" Dawn profusely apologized.

Jenny paid no mind to Dawn. For the time being, the only one she cared about was J. Determined to find out what was going on, she stepped around the coffee table and grabbed a handful of J's shirt, yanking her upward to get her attention. "J, what is this? Huh? Tell me! Why did you just kiss this girl?" she aggressively questioned her. "And while we're at it, what was that I stepped on before?"

In the past, an act like this from Jenny would have brought on some physical retaliation from the former Pokemon hunter. After her life had changed so much recently, however, J was able to stay remarkably collected in this sort of situation. "Can I set my coffee down first?" she quipped.

"Answer me!" Jenny demanded, in no mood for J's attitude.

"Always so impatient," J muttered. She wasn't sure how many people she was comfortable with knowing about the relationship between she and Dawn, but, in this case, she really didn't mind. She and Jenny may not have liked each other, but there was a certain understanding between them, and J was certain that Jenny would never bring trouble to someone innocent like Dawn. If Jenny wanted to know what was up, J would give it to her straight. "You stepped on a trap full of Shroomish spores, even though I _told_ you to stop. And as for your other question...do you remember when we were inside my base and I hinted that I may have fallen in love?"

Jenny's memories of that day had always been a bit muddled, but remember it she did. "What about it?"

J gestured toward Dawn several times with her index finger, prompting Jenny to turn and look at the girl. Wordlessly, Jenny looked back to J, then over to Dawn, and then back at J again. As the reality that J was implying began to sink in at last, a blank, baffled expression came over the policewoman.

"You're…in love…with…her?" Jenny asked, pointing over at Dawn.

"Wonderful, you finally get it," J mockingly applauded her for figuring it out.

Jenny was too perplexed at the moment to take offense to the patronizing. "But…she's a…"

"A girl, yes," J finished the thought for her. The woman standing before her appeared completely lost, and that fact didn't escape her. "Something wrong?"

"N-no, I just…" Jenny paused, averting her eyes from the bounty hunter as she released J's shirt from her grasp, "…I didn't know you were…into girls like that."

Somehow, that statement didn't quite sit right with J. "Into girls, huh?" she said, taking a moment to think it over. "Honestly, I don't think that's entirely correct. Dawn is the only one I've ever been interested in, so it's probably more accurate to say I'm just into her."

Dawn had to giggle after hearing J speak those words. J had never made her feelings for the girl a secret, but even so, hearing J say something like that made Dawn feel special.

"Just…into her, huh? Wait a minute, that's not the issue here!" Jenny roared, irritated at how things had gotten off track. "What does her family think about this? Do they even _know_?"

"Oh, Mom's okay with it," Dawn took the liberty of answering the question herself. "We were nervous about what she might say when we first went to tell her, but I get the feeling she sort of knew all along. Plus, I think she's glad that someone reliable like J is around to look after me."

Once again, Jenny was dumbfounded. "Oh," she blinked, keeping her focus on Dawn for the time being. "So…if she's in love with you, then…you're in love with her, too?"

With a bright smile, Dawn nodded her head. "Mhmm!"

Partly out of curiosity, as well as somewhat out of disbelief, Jenny could think of only one thing to ask. "Why?"

"Wh-…why?" Dawn repeated the unexpected question. Truthfully, she'd never given it a lot of thought. "I don't know, there's just…something about her, I guess. She's really sweet deep down, even if she doesn't always show it. And isn't she just _so_ cool, riding Salamence like she does and beating up bad guys? Oh, and she's really cute sometimes, too! Like last night, she rolled over in her sleep and wrapped herself around me like I was a body pillow."

In a rare bout of embarrassment, J reached over and put her hand over Dawn's mouth to stop her from going any further. "Hey! Don't tell her things like that!"

Chuckling at the reaction, Dawn pulled J's hand away from her as she looked back to Jenny. "See? Cute!"

Officer Jenny felt like her head was spinning. Her mouth hanging open, she staggered backwards and collapsed down onto the empty sofa. "This is…too much," she said, her former image of J completely shattered. "I don't even know who she is anymore."

"Get a grip. I'm still the same person that's always kicked your goody-goody butt," J griped at her.

Dawn was more empathic toward the reeling officer. For someone who'd known J for as long as Jenny had, the younger girl imagined it was probably quite the shock to suddenly be confronted with J as she was now. "Umm…w-we've got some fresh coffee in the kitchen. Would you like a cup?" she offered.

"Coffee? Sure. Why not?" Jenny halfheartedly accepted.

"Okay! I'll be right back with some, then," Dawn said, hopping up off the sofa.

While Dawn took her leave for the moment, Jenny raised her head to look at J, and she wouldn't take her eyes off of her. This was all surreal. J, _that_ J, had a girlfriend, and a cute one at that. This wasn't the J she knew. This wasn't the J she knew _at all_. Heck, she wasn't even leaving her guard up right now even though a police officer was sitting right across from her!

"What? Quit giving me that look," J grumbled.

Jenny wasn't going to waste this chance. So long as J was right here in front of her, there were things she wanted to know—things that had been bothering her for a very long time. "Where were you the past four years?" she asked all of a sudden.

"Oh, that's right. You've probably been dying to know," J teased. Really, she was glad to hear that Jenny still knew nothing about those years. If even the person most dedicated to pursuing her had no idea where she'd been, then clearly she'd done a good job of covering her tracks. "Were you still in Sinnoh when all of those news headlines started popping up about lost Pokemon mysteriously returning to their trainers?"

Jenny was more familiar with those cases than J knew. "I wasn't just there, I was assigned to look into some of those," she pointed out. "What about them?"

J, knowing what sort of reaction was likely forthcoming, had a smug grin on her face. "That was me stealing back all of the Pokemon I'd sold to my clients."

The officer took the news pretty much just as J had anticipated, jumping forward and slamming her palms down on the coffee table. "Are you serious?" she shouted. "Every single thing I investigated in those cases led me to a dead end! You're telling me that was all your doing? You've got to be freaking kidding me!"

J snickered at the woman's outburst as she took another sip from her mug. "I did that for three years, then came over here to get my footing as a bounty hunter," she further explained, smirking in Jenny's direction. "Were you bored without me?"

"Shut the hell up!" Jenny snarled at her. Though she wouldn't admit it, part of her aggravation stemmed from the fact that she really was bored during those years. "I don't get it. Why did you do it? Why give up everything you had like that?"

"Why?" J asked, surprised that Jenny didn't yet understand. "Come on, Jen, isn't it obvious? It was all for _her_."

For Dawn. Of course, Jenny should have known that after watching the two of them interact up until now. She'd spent most of her life chasing after J, and yet that girl had managed to do what she couldn't: bring an end to J's Pokemon hunting days. It was a bittersweet pill for Jenny to swallow.

"Have you ever regretted it?" Jenny felt compelled to ask.

The answer to that was all too easy for J to give. "Not even once. For the happiness I have now, every second of those four years was worthwhile."

Carrying a cup of coffee, Dawn now came back into the room and set the cup down in front of Jenny. "Here you go."

"Thank you," Jenny quietly spoke as Dawn sat back down next to J. She took a short drink, then stared down at the cup in her hand. "You really have changed. I feel kind of left behind."

"Left behind? In what way?" J inquired.

Jenny wasn't sure she wanted to bring it up, but, the way she was feeling right now, she didn't particularly care about maintaining appearances. "Even though I never had any romance in my life, it always made me feel a little better that at least one other person out there was the same way," she admitted, hanging her head. "Now I'm the only one. Get it?"

This time around, J understood where Jenny was coming from. "As a matter of fact, I do," she replied. "I never could've seen myself being involved with anyone, but then Dawn happened. Life can be funny like that."

"Guess so," Jenny mumbled.

"Stop sulking like that. It'll happen when you least expect it. Just give it time. Oh, but do keep in mind one thing," J insisted. Reaching over to the other side of the sofa, she wrapped an arm around Dawn's shoulder and pulled the surprised girl in close. "This one is mine. Understand?"

Smiling, Dawn nuzzled her head against the woman she loved. "And this one's mine!"

Watching these two showing their affection for one another was enough to make Jenny feel envious. Maybe J was right, though. She _was_ still relatively young and good-looking. Sure, she still threw herself into her work a lot, but maybe, just maybe, there was someone out there that would click well with someone like her. Honestly, if even J could find that special someone, she figured anyone could.

"Oh, I had an idea while I was getting the coffee!" Dawn announced, looking toward Jenny. "Since it's almost evening, and because we'd like to make up for that whole spore thing earlier, why don't you stay for dinner tonight?"

Oddly, Jenny perked up at once upon hearing the invitation. "D-dinner?"

"We want her to stay for dinner?" J narrowed her eyes at the girl. This was definitely NOT an idea that she approved of.

"Yes, we do. Because we're _very sorry_ that the nice police officer stepped on a trap and was rendered unconscious on our property," Dawn spoke slowly so that J got the hint. "Right?"

Dawn was making a point that they wanted to keep Jenny on their good side, and J could understand why. She didn't care for the idea of sharing dinner with Jenny, but fussing about it would only make Dawn upset, and that was never a good thing for anyone involved. "Eat with us this once, Jen. Dawn's cooking really hits the spot. You'll like it," J caved in quickly, reinforcing the offer.

Even Jenny felt that having dinner with J and Dawn would be awkward, but this was a rare opportunity for her. In the end, her stomach won out over her head. "I'm in. What're we having?"

* * *

By the time dinner was ready, Jenny's Arcanine had finally awakened and since joined the Pokemon belonging to J and Dawn for a meal of their own. As for their trainers, the three of them had gathered at a square-shaped table in the home's dining room. J and Dawn had always been the only two to use it, of course, usually just sitting across from one another while they ate. The table was large enough to accommodate four people at a time, though, so making room for Jenny wasn't an issue.

The aroma of the food had Jenny salivating in anticipation while she watched Dawn set the main entrée and side dishes out on the table. She could hardly restrain herself from digging in.

"All right, time to eat! Tonight we've got croquettes, some side salad, and, the main course, fettuccine alfredo with some steamed broccoli mixed in," Dawn pointed out the various dishes for Jenny's benefit. "I'm still learning when it comes to cooking, so it might not be the best. Give it a try and let me know what you think, though."

As eager as Jenny was, J actually beat her to the punch. She went right for the fettuccine and scooped a healthy serving of it onto her plate. "You are _far_ too modest. There are people out there who almost never get to eat anything this good," she insisted.

"Oh, come on. It's not _that_ good."

"Want to bet?"

Jenny followed suit and loaded up her plate. It all smelled so tantalizing, but she _really_ wanted a taste of the main dish before anything else. Sticking her fork into the fettuccine, she twirled it so that the noodles and broccoli wrapped around it, and then, finally, she took her first bite. And it was good. Oh, sweet mother of pasta, was it good. As she savored the succulent taste, tears actually started to run down Jenny's cheeks.

"Oh my gosh! Y-you're crying? Is something wrong with it?" Dawn frantically asked the officer.

"No, it's just…it's been so long since I've tasted home cooking," Jenny sobbed with her mouth full. "It's really, really good. And sweet, too."

"Oh, yeah, that's from the lemon juice I added to the alfredo sauce," Dawn laughed. Jenny's crying initially had her fearing the worst, so it was a huge relief to learn that Jenny had actually liked it. She still didn't think her cooking was the best, but if it was so bad that it had brought someone to tears, that would've done a number on what confidence she had.

"See, I told you it was good," J rubbed her correctness in Dawn's face. She then turned her attention back to Jenny. "And you, don't you think you're overreacting just a little?"

"Yeah, what do you usually eat, Jenny?" Dawn asked out of curiosity. She just had to know what sort of food made her cooking seem so good by comparison.

While continuing to stuff her mouth, Jenny spared a moment to ponder the question. "Energy bars, cup noodles…that's pretty much it."

Dawn hadn't been expecting anything too lavish in Jenny's response, but that selection was far less than she ever would have imagined. "You can't be serious."

"I'm a single woman who's married to her job! I've never had the time to learn how to cook," Jenny said in her defense.

"But…just energy bars and cup noodles? Really?" Dawn still found it tough to fathom.

"It's not so unbelievable," J chimed in, not sounding especially proud of what she was about to admit. "My diet used to be roughly the same."

That revelation left Dawn shocked. "What? Even _you_?" she shrieked. "What is wrong with you two?"

J and Jenny both slumped down and hung their heads at the admonishing. "A lot of things," they answered together.

As Dawn looked back and forth between the sulking women, she couldn't help noting how similar they seemed. The bounty hunter and the police officer; they were like two sides of the same coin. "W-well, anyway, if that's how it is, you can come join us for dinner another time if you'd like," Dawn said to their guest.

Jenny, her spirits raised, straightened up in a hurry. "I can?"

"She can?" J glanced over at Dawn, clearly not on board with the suggestion.

"Sure! A hard-working police officer deserves a good meal every now and then," Dawn smiled.

So touched by the offer was Jenny that she couldn't stop herself from sobbing again. "You're an angel, you know that?" she gushed over Dawn's kindness. "If you ever get tired of this criminal, you can come and be my wife!"

"Hey, what did I just tell you before?" J shot up from her chair in protest of that last remark. "Don't make passes at my girl, you self-righteous witch!"

"What did you call me?"

"You heard me!"

"That's it! Outside! NOW!"

"Fine by me! Let's go!"

The peace just couldn't last forever. While Dawn did her best to calm the women down, two of their Pokemon, Arcanine and Drapion, were actually getting along while they ate together. Old enemies, it seemed, could learn to stand one another after all. It might just take a little longer for some than others.

* * *

The sun was already setting once everyone had finished eating. Jenny had gotten her fill, both of Dawn's cooking and of talking to J, and she and Arcanine were ready to head on back home. J and Dawn stepped outside as well to see her off, though J was more interested in making sure that Jenny actually left.

"I put your bike over there," J informed the officer, pointing to a spot at the edge of the porch where the motorcycle sat.

"Got it," Jenny said. She slipped her uniform hat back on, and, quietly, she began walking toward her vehicle.

J was all for Jenny leaving as soon as possible, but, before she went, there was one thing J needed to know from her. "Are you going to tell your chief who I really am?"

Jenny stopped for a moment and looked back at the former Pokemon hunter. Given her duties as a police officer, letting the cat out of the bag regarding J was exactly what she should've done. Then again, unlike her fellow officers, she'd never been one to do things by the book. She'd already endured years of boredom while J was missing. How many more would she have to put up with if J were jailed? And then there was Dawn. Even now, Jenny could see the concern on the girl's face about what would happen to them if J were found out. What kind of devil would that make Jenny if she were to take the love of Dawn's life away from her? Yeah, there wasn't anything to think about here. She already knew the answer.

"Seeing as how you're currently a valuable asset in the fight against crime here in the Hoenn region, I think doing so would be counterproductive to my job," Jenny replied. Whether she actually meant it or was merely using it as an excuse was anybody's guess. "But, if you ever go back to your old ways, I'll be coming for you."

"Oh, is that so?" J gave her an amused look. "I'll keep that in mind."

Hearing that from Jenny was a load off of Dawn's shoulders. "Thank you for keeping quiet about it. That really means a lot to us," she expressed her gratitude to the officer. "Don't forget to join us for dinner again sometime!"

"You bet. How could I not?" Jenny winked back at the girl.

"Did you really have to remind her?" J grumbled as she peeked over at Dawn.

"Oh, come on. It's not often you have a friend visit," Dawn nudged the woman with her elbow.

Neither agreeing with the term Dawn had just used, both J and Jenny corrected her at the same time. "We're _not_ friends," the two of them spoke.

After verbally concurring with one another, J and Jenny shared a silent look, and then the both of them turned away from each other. Jenny smiled faintly. J simply shrugged her shoulders.

With a feeling that everything was clear between them, Jenny resumed walking toward her bike. "See you around."

"Whatever," J muttered.

While Jenny headed away, Dawn giggled a bit at the interaction between the women. "Well, that wasn't so bad, huh?"

"No, I suppose it could have been worse," J reluctantly admitted. "Still, I think I prefer just spending time alone with you."

Sharing in that sentiment, Dawn propped herself up against J's arm. "Me, too. Lucky for us, we've got plenty of time for that."

"Very true," J agreed.

Jenny got to her bike just fine, but, once she got there, the scenery around the house caught her eye. She was so focused on J when she'd arrived earlier that she hadn't even picked up on it. There really was a great shot of the sea from here, and Jenny and Arcanine kept walking further out into the grass to get a better look at it. "Wow, you guys have a nice view from here, don't you?"

J hadn't been paying attention to what Jenny was doing, but now that she saw what area the officer was wandering into, her alert level went through the roof. "Wait, STOP!" she yelled.

"Huh?" Jenny mouthed as she looked back at her.

*_BOOOOOOM!_*

Too late. It was déjà vu all over again as a cloud of Shroomish spores exploded from yet another mine that had been strategically placed on the property. Jenny and Arcanine staggered and soon fell to the ground, out cold once again.

J slapped a hand over her face, and Dawn grimaced as she looked up at her. "J…"

Much to J's chagrin, Jenny would end up staying the night at their place. Maybe those spore traps weren't such a great idea after all.

* * *

**End of Extra Chapter 1**


	16. Extra: Bash at the Beach

_**Capture the Heart  
**_**by rkOujirou**

Author's note: This story is a continuation based on the Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl anime, starting from after the episode "The Battle Finale of Legend!".

Disclaimer: Pokemon is not my idea and I don't own it or any of the characters, obviously.

* * *

**Extra Chapter 2**

"It's looking pretty good!"

"Pii piplup!"

"Bun bun buneary!"

With the warmth of the sun beaming down upon them, Dawn and Piplup, along with Dawn's Buneary and J's Ariados, were giving it their all to construct a sandcastle along the eastern shoreline of the Unova region. They and the rest of their group were presently enjoying themselves at a beach within Undella Town—one that, for certain reasons, very few people had access to.

Elsewhere in the area, Dawn's Dragonair was having some fun out at sea with Pachirisu riding atop its head. The remainder of Dawn's Pokemon hadn't ventured outside their pokeballs due to a lack of fondness for either the heat or the water. Along the beach, a couple of other Pokemon, J's Salamence and Drapion, were both lazing about, neither much interested in joining in the activities of the others. It always had been in their nature to keep to themselves, though.

For Dawn, this short vacation was, first and foremost, a chance to unwind and take a brief reprieve from everything she had going on back in Hoenn. But, she also saw it as a good opportunity to break out a new piece of swimwear she'd been eager to put to use. Donning a two-piece suit of a pale yellow color, she opted to go with a more conservative bikini top—she hadn't developed enough at her age to feel comfortable wearing anything more liberating quite yet. The bottom half of her suit was mostly covered by a sarong that was tied at the waist and extended down to around her knees, the pattern of tropical flowers it displayed matching well with her bright-colored attire.

Dawn loved how the suit looked from the moment she put it on. Of course, how she herself felt about it was one thing. More than that, though, she was hoping that a particular silver-haired individual would like it just as much as she did.

"Piplup piplup pip!"

"Ariados aria!"

"Piplup pii piplup!"

"Aria ariados ariaaaa!"

It came as no surprise to Dawn when she heard Piplup and Ariados up to their usual bickering. From the looks of things, this time their squabble appeared to be over whether or not to add a moat to the sandcastle. Ariados wanted to do it, but Piplup clearly didn't care for the idea.

"Come on, you guys. This is supposed to be fun!" Dawn chided the Pokemon.

At that moment, Dawn raised her head as something caught her eye. Down by the water, someone was emerging from the sea. There were only two people here, of course, leaving little mystery as to who it was.

J, who had just finished a lengthy swim, was breathing heavily as she trudged onto the shore. She brushed back her soaked, silver hair with one hand, her chest heaving in and out with every breath. Unlike Dawn's swimwear, the suit J wore was chosen more for its functionality than its visual appeal. It was a simple two-piece—white with navy blue trim. Sleek in appearance, the suit looked like something a professional swimmer might wear. That also made it perfect for getting a workout in the water.

Over by the sandcastle, Dawn's breath caught in her throat as she admired the sight before her. There had been times recently where she had felt...somewhat strange around J. She loved the woman, of course; that much she was well aware of. But these feelings she had begun to experience on occasion, they were...different. Stronger, in a way. And right now, as she beheld J stepping out from the sea, the water dripping from her suit, her hair and that toned body of hers—especially her abs, oh, _goodness_, her abs—those feelings were again starting to surface.

Looking to rest for a bit, J stepped over to a pair of lounge chairs that sat underneath a giant umbrella along with most of she and Dawn's other belongings. She'd been eying the rightmost of the two chairs, and that was where she wound up plopping herself down. She wasn't up to toweling herself off quite yet. That could wait, she decided. For now, she laid back and closed her eyes, content to just relax after her vigorous swim.

While J lay there regaining her breath, taking in the tranquil sounds of the waves rolling onto the beach all the while, she felt something cold against her cheek all of a sudden. The change in temperature coercing her to reopen her eyes, she peeked over to the side where she found Dawn holding a chilled bottle of sports drink.

"You weren't kidding when you said you were going to swim around for a while," Dawn smiled as she sat down beside her. "You must be tired after that."

"A little," J admitted. Accepting the bottle from the girl, she downed a series of big gulps that left it around half empty before she finally stopped to take another breath. "Phew! That's better."

It was just like J to do what she could to keep herself fit even when they were supposed to be on vacation, Dawn thought. There were times when that mentality could be frustrating, but even then Dawn had to admire J's dedication to staying in shape.

J took another large swig of the beverage, leaving the bottle with little left to spare. "Hey, are you sure nobody is going to mind us being here?" she asked.

"Ugh! For the hundredth time, yes!" Dawn replied. She was getting tired of answering this question over and over again. "The property's owner very clearly told me that I was free to come enjoy this spot if I was ever in the area."

"Hmm…" J narrowed her eyes, still appearing skeptical as she finished off her drink. It wasn't that she didn't trust Dawn, because she did. In fact, Dawn was the _only_ person she allowed herself to trust. Still, there was a cautious side to J that she always had trouble shaking no matter what the situation. The last thing she wanted was for some disgruntled property owner to swing by and accuse them of trespassing. Not that breaking laws was anything new to J, but her being out here without any sort of disguise to hide the fact that she was a once-renowned criminal made the idea of anyone getting a good look at her very unappealing. The world assumed her to be dead, and she wanted to keep it that way.

"Jeez, stop worrying about it already," Dawn grumbled. Reaching down into a cooler sitting between the two chairs, she pulled out a small baggie full of celery sticks and held it up for J to see. "Here, I brought a snack for us! Want one?"

J stared at the treats for a moment, mulling it over. "Mmm…give me half of one," she requested.

Dawn took out one of the sticks and readied to break it in half. It was then, however, that she came up with an intriguing idea. "I think I'll have half of one, too," she said, a mischievous smile crossing her face.

Rather than breaking the celery, Dawn instead placed one end of it in her mouth. Then, leaning over the woman beside her with one knee set between J's legs to better keep her balance, she positioned herself so that the other end of the treat was directly in front of J's face.

J quirked an eyebrow as she stared up at the eager girl. She had a feeling she knew what Dawn had in mind, and she wasn't entirely sold on it. "Seriously?"

"Mhmm!" Dawn nodded. Excited, she bounced up and down a few times, beckoning J to take the celery's free end.

While J was almost always willing to go along with whatever made Dawn happy, this was embarrassing enough to make even her feel apprehensive. Looking to and fro, she quickly scoured the area to make sure no one else was around before turning back to Dawn. "If you weren't so damn cute, I'd object to this."

Putting her reservations aside, J raised her head up off the lounge chair just far enough so that she was able to bite down on the other end of the celery. Now the real game began. Both J and Dawn started nibbling away at their respective sides of the treat, neither having any intention of backing down. With each bite, the two of them inched closer and closer to each other.

Eventually, there was only one bite left for either of them to take. J looked into Dawn's eyes, and Dawn into J's.

"I'm not giving up," J spoke through her teeth.

"I'm not either," Dawn did the same, holding her ground.

And so, at the very same time, they both went for it. At the celery's midpoint, Dawn's and J's lips met, and the treat disappeared from view. From then onward, it was no longer an act of sharing a snack. Now it had turned into just what Dawn wanted: sharing a kiss with her beloved.

J sort of knew it would end this way, and she certainly didn't mind it. If Dawn ever wanted a kiss, she was more than happy to oblige the girl. After a few seconds had passed, J moved to break the kiss so she could finish off the celery sitting in her mouth. To her bewilderment, however, she found that she wouldn't get such a chance just yet.

Before J could pull back, Dawn grasped the sides of the bounty hunter's face, not only forcing the lip lock to continue, but forcing it to continue with even more passion than before. The wide-eyed surprise in J's expression that followed spoke a thousand words. She'd seen some different sides of Dawn since they'd come to know each other, especially since they'd begun living together, but she'd never seen the girl this assertive before.

J initially raised her arms up as if to do something when the aggressive move caught her off guard, but she quickly deemed that no such action was necessary. Gradually, she closed her eyes and placed her hands around Dawn's hips. For now, she would let the coordinator do as she pleased.

Once she'd gotten her fill, Dawn broke the kiss of her own volition, sitting up in a hurry after she did so. When she realized what she'd just done, even Dawn appeared surprised by her own actions.

Slowly opening her eyes again, J chewed and swallowed the bits of celery she'd come away with in the end. Then, with an interested look about her, she set her sights on the one looking down from above. "Well, I wasn't expecting _that_," J commented, an amused tone to her voice. "Where did all of this come from?"

Both of their faces had a hint of red to them after the kiss they'd just shared, but that applied much more so to Dawn. "Y-yeah, well," Dawn chuckled, embarrassed that she'd gone and done such a thing. "When I saw you come out of the water, you looked so…well…y'know, and I just reeeeeeally wanted to kiss you."

After hearing that, J grinned knowingly as she eyed the girl. "Ohh, is that so? I suppose you don't get the chance to see me in a swimsuit very often," she pointed out. "You liked seeing that, did you?"

Blushing, Dawn looked away momentarily, twiddling her fingers in front of her. "K-Kind of," she conceded.

Dawn had made her move, but J wasn't about to allow it to pass without some retaliation. Seeing Dawn's left knee positioned on the very edge of the chair, J brought her own knee over and bumped Dawn's leg out from under her. Losing her balance, Dawn let out a yelp as she wound up falling forward and collapsing right up against J. As if Dawn's face wasn't red enough before, it really began showing some color now as she felt her body pressing against J's through their swimsuits.

Now, J had the girl right where she wanted her. "I like your suit, too. It looks cute on you," she used their closeness to whisper into Dawn's ear.

Dawn jumped as she felt J's lips move down and start to kiss along the side of her neck. "A-ahahaha! J...!" Dawn giggled. "You know that...ah...tickles! Why do you always go for that spot?"

"Because it's fun."

"Ahahahaha! J, stop!"

Dawn hadn't considered a possible counterattack from the woman. Then again, she wasn't all that opposed to it, either.

The two of them had entered their own little world, barely registering the sounds of the waves rolling in on the beach as they shared a little extra playtime with one another. Off behind them in the water, however, there was a splash loud enough that it set itself apart from the others. So enveloped in each other were J and Dawn that they paid no mind to the noise despite the racket it made. As it turned out, they probably should have.

The Pokemon on the beach _did_ notice the huge splash, and all of them watched as another Pokemon, along with its trainer, made a sudden appearance from the sea and pulled up onto the shore. The Pokemon was a Milotic, and an impressive one at that. In fact, the only thing more impressive may have been its noteworthy trainer.

"Whew! That was fun, wasn't it?" Milotic's trainer exclaimed as she stepped down from its back. Flipping the long, wet locks of her blonde hair back behind her, she adjusted the bottom region of the black, one-piece swimwear she wore to a more comfortable position.

The woman was no stranger to Dawn's Pokemon. In fact, Piplup and the others recognized her immediately. Well-known throughout the Sinnoh region and even in other parts of the world, she was the one and only Cynthia.

Cynthia was all smiles as she continued to adjust her suit, at least until she noticed that she and Milotic weren't alone. Dragonair and Pachirisu were the first to catch her eye out in the water. Moving along, she then spotted the three Pokemon sitting beside the sandcastle on land. Only after all of that did she finally arrive at the main event.

J and Dawn may not have noticed the splash that Cynthia made upon her arrival, but there was no way they wouldn't have heard her voice as she came ashore. When Cynthia laid eyes upon the girls, both of them were frozen as they stared back at her, their bodies still squished together atop the lounge chair.

Her face lighting up with shock as she realized what sort of scene she'd stumbled upon and just who was a part of it, Cynthia cupped a hand over her mouth. "Oh...oh, my..."

With that, the whole of the situation hit Dawn at last. Cynthia, of all people, had caught she and J playing around. That knowledge was too much for Dawn to bear, and, turning red as a beet, she went into panic mode. "NOOOOOOO!"

Scrambling to get off of J, Dawn pushed herself up and stepped off the chair with one foot. As she turned to face Cynthia and brought her other leg over, however, her foot caught on J's thigh, tripping her and sending her face-first into the sand. Dawn was in such a frantic rush that she didn't even care about her sand-covered cheeks at this point. Popping right back up, she scurried over to the blonde-haired woman at the edge of the water.

"C-C-Cynthia! I'm sorry! I'M SORRY! I didn't think you would be here!" Dawn tried desperately to explain herself.

"O-oh, it's all right. I was just surprised is all," Cynthia said, rather entertained by Dawn's rattled demeanor. Seeing the girl like this, she couldn't stop herself from poking a bit of fun at her. "I...didn't realize you'd become so grown up."

Mortified by those words, Dawn dropped to her knees and pounded her fists into the sand. "Noooo! Why does this have to happen _again_?" she cried. Really, it was bad enough when Officer Jenny had caught she and J in the midst of one of their tender moments at home, but Cynthia doing so was even worse.

"Sorry, sorry. I was only teasing," Cynthia apologized, chuckling to herself. "It's been a while, Dawn. If I may ask, who is your lucky friend?"

Over underneath the umbrella, J had been eying Cynthia closely. As much time as she'd spent in the Sinnoh region throughout her life, it was impossible not to recognize who Cynthia was. It was likely that she was the one who owned this property and had given Dawn permission to use it, which was surprising in itself to J as she'd never heard Dawn mention that she was close with her. Cynthia was Champion of the Sinnoh region last J had known, but she had no idea whether or not that was still the case. J didn't have much inclination to keep up on such trivial things these days.

Dawn, meanwhile, was starting to fret over the possibility that Cynthia might recognize J. There was an endless array of things that could go bad if that happened, so Dawn could only hope and pray that it didn't. "L-Lucky friend, you say. Haha. I guess I should introduce you," Dawn said, getting back to her feet. This wasn't going to be as easy as it sounded, though. She couldn't just refer to J as "J" in front of Cynthia, lest she aid the woman in finding out the truth. If that was the case... "Cynthia, this is...umm...Jeanne!"

Hearing her real name uttered for the first time in what felt like forever, J immediately set a wide-eyed stare on Dawn. She couldn't believe the girl had just done that.

The cringe in her expression showed well that Dawn was already regretting what she'd just blurted out. She'd known for a long time how J felt about that name; it was just the first thing that had come to mind. Silently, she mouthed the word "sorry" in J's direction.

"Jeanne, is it? It's a pleasure to meet you," Cynthia greeted her, stepping closer to the bounty hunter. "I'm-"

"Cynthia. I know," J interrupted. She didn't like this situation one bit, and it was painfully obvious. "This is your property, I take it?"

"Yes, it is. It's a beautiful spot, isn't it?" Cynthia replied. "So, how long have you known Dawn for?"

Cynthia's intentions were innocent enough, but J had no interest in making small talk. "That's none of your business," J sharply told her, starting to rise from her chair. "It seems you'd like to use this place, so we'll just be getting out of your hair."

"Oh, that isn't necessary," Cynthia insisted. Somehow, she didn't yet seem offended by J's prickly attitude. "I told Dawn she could drop by anytime, after all. If anything, I should leave the two of you be and come back another day."

"N-no! You shouldn't have to do that, Cynthia! This place belongs to _you_!" Dawn protested the idea. "We'll go if you want us to."

Although J and Dawn were offering to cede the beach to her, Cynthia had another arrangement in mind. "Really, that isn't necessary. But, if you're also opposed to my leaving, then, instead, why don't we all enjoy the beach together?" she suggested. "If you don't mind me being around, that is."

"No, not at all! We'd love that!" Dawn replied.

Though she said such a thing, Dawn had a feeling she was speaking for herself and herself alone. A quick peek at J only confirmed that. Clearly not on board with the idea of hanging around Cynthia, J merely looked away, annoyed. She didn't like sharing anything with anyone, and she especially didn't like sharing what was supposed to be her vacation time alone with Dawn.

Dawn could understand how J felt right now, but this was one instance where she hoped the woman she loved could at least play along and be civil. Cynthia's friendship was something Dawn had always cherished and she didn't want anything to ruin that.

"So, what brings the two of you here?" Cynthia asked the younger of the girls.

"Oh, we just wanted a day to relax under the sun," Dawn told her. "I'd always liked this spot, so I thought we'd come here. I guess I should have contacted you first, huh?"

"It's not a problem. You've probably been busy since becoming a Top Coordinator, am I right?"

"Haha! That's for sure! So, what are you doing out here, Cynthia?"

"Me? Just doing a little training with Milotic is all."

Fascinated with Cynthia's aquatic Pokemon, as she usually was, Dawn walked over to get a closer look at it. "Wow, it's as pretty as ever," she beamed.

Appreciative of the compliment, Milotic lowered its head and nuzzled up against Dawn's cheek, drawing a light giggle from the girl.

What neither Dawn nor Cynthia noticed was that J was no longer looking away. She'd been watching the two of them converse, and, in the midst of it all, something began to bother her. For whatever reason, she didn't like how well they seemed to get along.

"I see you brought your Pokemon here as well," Cynthia said, watching briefly as Piplup, Buneary and Ariados continued their construction of the sandcastle. As she panned around the beach, Cynthia would take notice of a Pokemon she'd never seen around Dawn before. "Oh, what a magnificent Salamence!"

Her interest piqued, Cynthia started to approach the winged creature—a move that had Dawn feeling somewhat nervous. "Y-yeah, Salamence is Jeanne's Pokemon, actually," Dawn informed her.

"Hmm..." Cynthia looked into Salamence's eyes as she knelt down in front of it. "Hello there."

Cynthia reached out to pat Salamence atop its head, but Salamence wasn't having any of it. Before it could be touched, J's Pokemon pulled its head away in defiance.

"Hey! Salamence!" Dawn snapped at the Pokemon, not appreciative of its rude behavior.

As she observed things from out of the corner of her eye, J was quietly amused by Salamence's actions. She would have to remind herself to give it a special snack once they got back home, she decided.

Unlike Dawn, Cynthia wasn't upset by the brush-off in the slightest. "It's fine. You're just not comfortable around people you're not familiar with, right?" she said, giving Salamence an understanding nod. "Some Pokemon are like that. You've just got to let them be who they are."

While Dawn still wasn't happy about it, she could see where Cynthia was coming from. "Well, I guess that's true," she conceded.

"Right?" Cynthia chuckled. For the moment, she then shot a glance over at J. "Often times, Pokemon take on such traits from their trainer."

J, not taking kindly to the comment, turned and glared at the blonde-haired woman. "Is there something you want to say to me?" she snarled.

"No, just an observation," Cynthia responded, tranquil as could be. Despite what J may have thought, Cynthia had no intention of starting a conflict. "Dawn, I'm going to go say hello to Piplup and the others before I start working with Milotic. Please, relax and enjoy yourselves."

"Oh, okay. Would you mind if I watched you two a little?" Dawn asked her.

"By all means," Cynthia smiled.

The world-renowned trainer headed over to the Pokemon around the sandcastle, which left Dawn free to deal with a small issue that had come up, that being J's sour attitude. Her cheeks puffing out, the young coordinator stormed over to the reclining woman with an axe to grind. "Can't you at least _try_ to be polite?"

J would answer that question with another question. "Just how long have you known me? And while we're at it, how long have you known _her_?" she inquired. "You've never mentioned her to me before."

"Well, yeah. Why would I have? You don't ever ask about who I do and don't know," Dawn replied, placing her hands on her hips. "Ash, Brock and I got to know Cynthia during my first journey through Sinnoh, and we've stayed in touch ever since. She even let me stay at her villa here a couple of times when I visited Unova."

Irked by the idea of Dawn staying with Cynthia, J shot a dirty look over at the other woman. "Is that so?"

"Yes, and she's really nice! So, please, be at least a little courteous?" Dawn pleaded with her.

Though the request seemed fair enough in Dawn's eyes, it was just asking too much of someone like J, who looked away from the girl in annoyance. "Sorry I can't be as _nice_ as Cynthia," she huffed.

Dawn blinked several times as she stared down at the woman. There was...something about the way she was acting. "Are you...jealous?"

That wording irritating J more than Dawn could've imagined, the bounty hunter swung back around to face her. "I am _not_ jealous," she insisted.

Despite J's denial, Dawn wasn't quite buying it. "Come on, there's no need to be. Cynthia's just an old friend."

"I told you, I'm not jealous," J repeated herself. She was trying to keep her emotions in check, but they were starting to get the best of her. Needing some time to herself, J rolled up off of her chair and promptly walked away.

Even knowing the type of person J was, Dawn still didn't understand why this was all so complicated. Just how hard could it possibly be for J to try to be respectful around a friend of hers? "Honestly, what's _with_ her?" Dawn fumed.

* * *

While things were happening along the shoreline, something else was going on out in the sea. Unbeknownst to those on land, a periscope had just popped up out of the water, and it was focused directly on them.

Beneath the water's surface, three different voices echoed on the inside of a very unique mechanical contraption.

"H-hey, isn't that Cynthia? What is _she_ doing here?" one voice spoke with concern.

"This could be problematic. Shall we retreat for now?" another inquired.

"Heck no! With this new gizmo, even Cynthia ain't gonna stop us!" the owner of the third voice said with confidence.

"That's right! We can do this! It's our time to shine!" one of the others declared. "For revenge!"

"Revenge!"

"Revenge!"

* * *

Back on the beach, Cynthia had finished saying her hellos to Dawn's Pokemon and was ready to start working with Milotic.

Meanwhile, J was still giving herself some space after bringing her conversation with Dawn to an abrupt end. Being accused of jealousy was new for her, and she didn't appreciate it much, to say the least. In reality, what J was feeling wasn't so simple as to be deemed jealousy. For as long as she had known Dawn, she'd seen that the girl had an appreciation for people who had a natural kindness to them, such as Cynthia. That was all fine and dandy, except for one thing: J wasn't that sort of person. She couldn't be that sort of person, either, and knowing that had sometimes left her feeling frustrated as it did right now.

Dawn, unaware of J's feelings, again plopped herself down next to the sandcastle. The frown hadn't disappeared from her face, and chances were it wouldn't for a while yet. "Really, if something's bothering her, why can't she just tell me?" she grumbled. "She doesn't have to be so proud all the time. Just talk to me and I'll listen! Sheesh."

Suddenly, a loud noise out over the water caught everyone's attention. It sounded almost as if a cannon had gone off, and, as Dawn looked toward the sea, she quickly got up close and personal with what had caused it. A large, metallic net that had been fired from a distance slammed down into the sand, instantly destroying the castle the Pokemon had been putting together. By sheer luck, Buneary and Ariados had avoided being wrapped up because of where they'd been sitting, but Dawn and Piplup weren't so fortunate. Both of them cried out with surprise as they were completely enveloped by the net.

Hearing Dawn's distressed voice, J swung around in a hurry. "Dawn!"

"A net? What is this?" Cynthia wondered aloud, puzzled as to what was going on.

No one would have to wait long for the culprit to make itself known. A huge splash of water soon erupted from the sea, sending out a sizable wave that had Dawn's Dragonair and Pachirisu right in its path.

Dragonair didn't back down from the wave, braving it despite the balance issues it brought about. Pachirisu, however, was spooked enough by the rough conditions that it wound up using its Discharge by reflex. Dragonair, being a dragon-type Pokemon, was resistant to electric attacks, but the fact that it was covered in water complicated things. With the water's conductive properties aiding the punch that Discharge packed, Dragonair's body began to sway after the attack had ended. It wasn't knocked out, but it was rattled, and all Pachirisu could do was try to shake Dragonair out of it as it tried to hang on atop the larger Pokemon's head.

In the meantime, the object that had created the splash had become clearly visible to everyone. It was a mechanical giant—a rotund robot that towered above the water's surface. Painted black with a big, red 'R' on its belly, the contraption had two mechanical arms on its sides. All of a sudden, one of those arms reeled in the net Dawn and Piplup had been trapped with, drawing a loud shriek from the Top Coordinator.

Once the net had settled into place dangling high in the air from the mechanical hand, Dawn finally got the chance to settle down. "Wh-what is going on here? Who's controlling this thing?"

Dawn was about to find out just that as a dome atop the massive robot began to open up. The further it opened, the more Dawn was able to see inside the giant. There was a series of controls all around the top portion of the machine, and sitting at those controls were three individuals that Dawn had never imagined she would lay eyes upon again. They were the troublesome Team Rocket trio of Jessie, James and Meowth.

"Surprise, surprise!" Jessie gleefully greeted the trapped coordinator.

"Team Rocket's back in action, and we're ready to return the favor for what you did to us!" James exclaimed.

Over on the shore, Cynthia had overheard the organization's name. "Team Rocket?" she blinked. It had been a while, but she recognized the group from the Meloetta incident that had occurred in Unova years earlier.

While Cynthia pondered what course of action to take, Dawn, holding Piplup close to her, didn't seem much impressed with her captors. "Really? You guys are _still_ doing stuff like this?" she asked dryly. "How did you even know we were here?"

"Dat's none of your beeswax, twerp! And you betcha we're still doin' stuff like this! Team Rocket always wins in the end! You betta get ready, 'cuz this is our revenge!" Meowth warned the girl. "Oh, and don't even try gettin' outta that net! It's super reinforced, and there ain't no attacks that Piplup can pull off that'll break you guys free!"

"AHEM!" Jessie stood up, offended by the lack of attention she was receiving. "In case you've forgotten, I'm Jessie!"

"I'm James!" the blue-haired Team Rocket member rose and joined his partner.

"And I'm Meowth, that's a name!" Meowth chimed in.

Rearranging themselves, the villainous trio struck a symmetrical pose with Meowth smack in the middle.

"Putting the do-gooders in their place..."

"...we're Team Rocket..."

"...and we're in your f-"

Before Team Rocket could even finish their motto, an orange-colored beam of energy roared through the air, forcing all three of them to take cover as they narrowly avoided the attack. Trembling after the close call, the group slowly peeked out above the robot's control panel and looked toward the beach.

Standing beside Salamence, who had just fired a potent Hyper Beam, J had her arms folded over her chest and a nasty scowl on her face that said she meant business. "The next one won't miss," she cautioned the three of them, and she wasn't kidding. "Let go of Dawn..._or else_."

Her teeth still chattering with fright, Jessie managed to stand herself back up. "D-Don't you have any common courtesy?" she barked at the bounty hunter.

"Yeah! At least let us finish our introduction first!" James concurred.

"And you can forget about us lettin' the twerp go!" Meowth yelled back at her. "She ain't goin' nowhere 'til you pay for blowin' up our balloon!"

Setting an icy glare on Team Rocket, J had only one thing left to say to them. "Have it your way," she hissed. Ready to dish out some pain, she hopped up onto her Pokemon's back. "Salamence, let's go!"

Salamence took to the air with haste and soared in the direction of the giant robot out in the water. J wouldn't be the only one participating in Dawn's rescue, either, as Cynthia, too, now looked toward her Pokemon.

"Milotic, we need to help!" Cynthia told the aquatic creature. Much like J had with Salamence, Cynthia positioned herself atop the back of Milotic and together they blazed a path by sea out to the mechanical creation.

Though they now had a pair of threats to deal with, Team Rocket's primary concern for the moment was the fast-approaching J. "Hah! If you think things will be like last time, you're sadly mistaken!" James boasted. "Meowth, let's give her a taste of some Team Rocket technology!"

"Roger that!" Meowth replied with a wide grin. With the single press of a button on the console, a circular area around the 'R' on the robot's chest opened up, unveiling what appeared to be a large glove balled up into a fist shape. The glove was connected to the machine by a massive spring that was already loaded and ready to go. "Let's see ya take one of these!"

As J and Salamence neared, the glove in the giant's chest shot outward with surprising speed, looking to smack its two targets out of the air. The weapon was quick, but Salamence's agility was nothing to scoff at, either. With a flap of its wings, Salamence veered off to the side, successfully escaping the path of the attack. After its miss, the spring and attached glove rescinded, reloading itself for another shot.

"Ridiculous," J muttered. She was angry enough that Team Rocket had messed with Dawn, but the sheer stupidity of their weapon was infuriating in its own right. That was fine by her, though. She was going to deal with it and the rest of the mechanical giant right now. "Salamence, use Dragon Pulse!"

As commanded, Salamence began to build up a mass of turquoise energy within its mouth. Team Rocket, though, had seen this scenario play out before, and this time they had a countermeasure.

Using the controls to move one of the mechanical arms, James adjusted it so that the robot was holding Dawn and Piplup directly in Salamence's firing path. "Ah, ah, ah! I wouldn't do that unless you intend to harm _her_ as well," James cackled.

"Tch!" J spat, understandably hesitant now about proceeding with the attack.

"Hey! That's playing dirty!" Dawn shot James a nasty look from within the net.

"Perhaps, but we do what's necessary," James defended their strategy.

Salamence didn't even have to wait for the order to let its growing mass of energy dissipate; it did it on its own. J hated it, but she couldn't deny the effectiveness of the tactic. Once upon a time, she herself might have done something similar if the situation required it.

"A wise choice," James snickered. "Now, Meowth, take her down!"

The large glove sprung outward a second time, again barely missing as Salamence maneuvered itself out of harm's way. No matter where it flew, James kept Dawn and Piplup between Salamence and themselves, ensuring that J couldn't attack them without endangering the one most important to her. For now, J would have to go on the defensive until she came up with a plan.

While James and Meowth dealt with J, Jessie was focused on Cynthia and Milotic, who were closing in from below. "I'll handle this one," she smirked. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a pokeball and tossed it into the air. "Wobbuffet, come out!"

The smaller, blue Pokemon appeared on the rim of the robot's control area as it exited its pokeball, raising one of its arms to its forehead. "Waaaaaa..."

Dawn was being used to keep J at bay, but she wasn't in the path of Cynthia and Milotic, and that opened up the possibility for the two of them to take control of this situation. "Milotic, use Hydro Pump!" Cynthia commanded.

As was asked of it, Milotic fired a powerful jet of water from its mouth, the attack aimed at the upper portion of the robot.

"I don't think so!" Jessie beamed with confidence. "Wobbuffet, Mirror Coat!"

Its body becoming surrounded in a white, reflective color, Wobbuffet took Milotic's Hydro Pump attack head-on only to reflect it right back at the other Pokemon with even more power.

Cynthia recognized right away the danger of the attack, and she reacted appropriately. "Milotic, avoid it!"

With Cynthia hanging on tightly, Milotic used its speed in the water to make a hasty, yet graceful escape, moving out of the way just before the jet of water struck. It instead collided with the sea, the impact of which was enough to send a watery spray high up into the air that eventually drizzled down onto Milotic and its trainer.

"_Mirror Coat, huh?_" Cynthia thought to herself. She, too, would have some brainstorming to do.

Up in the sky, J and Salamence were continuing to dodge the glove weapon as it came at them. J was tiring of this routine, though. She didn't like being on the defensive side of things, and she damn sure didn't like her opponents having things play out the way they wanted them to. She may not have been able to attack the robot itself while Team Rocket was using Dawn as a shield, but that didn't mean she couldn't attack a part of it that happened to be overextending out of its safe zone.

"Salamence, I think it's time we show these clowns who they're dealing with," J spoke in a determined voice. The growl from Salamence that followed only confirmed that her Pokemon felt the same way. "I want you to fly down toward them. This time, when that thing comes at us, don't change course."

Salamence did exactly as its master asked. When the glove came springing out at them again, it didn't bother moving to avoid it.

"Now, use Double-Edge!" J commanded.

Its body glowing gold, Salamence slammed its full weight into the glove, initiating a collision that held a thunderous impact. J had to hang on as Salamence reeled back from the recoil damage it took. The real damage, however, was dealt to Team Rocket's weapon. Part of the glove's spring had cracked from the force of Salamence's power, and everything from that point out to the tip of the glove broke off as the weapon was rescinded, the affected parts flopping down into the sea below.

"Good work," J complimented her Pokemon.

"No! How dare you?" James shook his fist at the ones who had destroyed his weapon.

"Serves you right!" Dawn shouted at him. "You guys had better give up now before you really make her mad!"

"Yeah, right! You think we'll give up just like that? We got some more toys for ya!" Meowth gloated. As the talking Pokemon punched a sequence into the control panel, the barrels of two weapons appeared from the giant's chest on either side of where the now-broken glove and spring had come from. "You like usin' beams on us? Well here's some for _you_!"

Salamence was forced to take immediate evasive action as the robot's barrels began firing rounds of laser beams up into the sky. J, knowing Salamence would have to put forth some extra effort to avoid the continual fire, switched over to a seated position atop her Pokemon and hung onto the back of its broad neck for stability. "Don't worry about me, just dodge those beams!" she instructed Salamence.

As much as Dawn believed in J's abilities, the beams were coming just a bit too close to the woman and her Salamence for comfort. "J, be careful!" Dawn called out to her.

On the other front, Jessie couldn't have been more proud of herself as she shot a condescending look down at Cynthia. "Is that all you've got?" she taunted the famed trainer. "I don't care who you are, you're powerless to do anything to us!"

"Is that so?" Cynthia calmly replied, a faint smile crossing her lips. Having Milotic use its special attacks against Wobbuffet wasn't going to do much good with Mirror Coat in play. But, that was only if Mirror Coat actually _was_ in play. "Milotic, use Attract!"

"What?" Jessie gasped. Attract wasn't a move that Mirror Coat could deal with, leaving Jessie with no option but to watch her strategy crumble.

With a wink of its eye, Milotic unleashed a stream of pink hearts that surrounded and spun around Wobbuffet. Its body flashing pink momentarily, Wobbuffet began to sway back and forth as the hearts vanished, its desire to fight Milotic wiped away all at once.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Jessie argued.

"You've got to be prepared for these sorts of things," Cynthia passed her adversary some friendly advice. "Milotic, now use Blizzard!"

Milotic began to blow a torrent of wind and snow from its mouth, engulfing Wobbuffet and Team Rocket in a wintry chill. In its charmed state, Wobbuffet couldn't use Mirror Coat or any other move, leaving it completely susceptible to the attack.

"W-Wobbuffet, s-s-snap out of it!" Jessie, shivering from the decrease in temperature, tried to tell her Pokemon. Wobbuffet, though, was starting to freeze, and it wasn't the only one. The robot itself was also displaying a coat of frost.

"Good job, Milotic. Keep it up!" Cynthia encouraged her Pokemon.

As the frost spread, the laser cannons that had been firing upon J and Salamence began to feel the effects of it. The gears that allowed them to move around were struggling to the point that they were locking up, causing the shots to miss by an even wider margin.

"H-h-hey, wh-what're you doing over there, Meowth? Aim properly!" James griped at his partner-in-crime.

"I'm t-t-tryin', but they ain't m-movin' right!" Meowth defended itself. "And why's it so darn COLD?"

Before long, it wasn't just the lasers' mobility that was compromised. With the freeze building up on the weapons, they gradually stopped firing altogether.

"N-now wh-wh-wh-what?" James asked, rubbing his arms to try to warm himself up.

"They ain't f-f-firin' no m-more!" Meowth exclaimed.

James tried moving the giant's mechanical limbs, but even those had become inoperable. "The arms, t-t-too! N-now what d-d-d-do we d-do?"

With the robot's arms and weapons disabled, that left a certain bounty hunter without any further need to hesitate. The Team Rocket members watched nervously as Salamence descended from the sky in front of them with J again standing atop its back.

"Well, what do you know? I suppose Cynthia has her uses after all," J concluded. Outstretching her arm, she pointed at the center of Team Rocket's creation with a menacing look in her eyes.

Over in their net, Dawn and Piplup would have liked to cheer J on, but both of them had just picked up on a very important detail that they believed was being overlooked. "H-...huh?" Dawn blinked. "Umm...wait...we're still-"

"Salamence, use Hyper Beam!" J instructed her winged Pokemon.

Dawn and her Piplup both grew pale as a mass of orange-colored energy again began to build in Salamence's mouth. Destroying the robot was fine, but not while they were still attached to it!

Up at the giant's control panel, the Team Rocket trio huddled together in a panic.

"H-how did it turn out like this?"

"This was supposed to b-b-be our revenge!"

"M-maybe so, but I get the feelin' we're about to b-b-b-blast off again!"

Team Rocket's ominous feeling was about to become a reality. With its Hyper Beam fully charged, Salamence ruthlessly unloaded the enormous blast of energy. The beam crashed into the behemoth's frozen belly with tremendous power, causing the robot to explode.

The cries of Team Rocket echoed throughout the sky as they flew off into the distance and vanished. What was left of their robot soon came crashing down into the sea in bits and pieces. At the time of the explosion, however, the mechanical arm with the net containing Dawn was jerked upward. The spot where the net was connected to it then snapped apart, opening it up and freeing Dawn and Piplup from its confines, but not before flinging them even higher up into the air.

"Whoooaaaaaa!" Dawn screamed. So forceful was the swing that she lost her grip on Piplup, who became separated from her. "Piplup!"

"Pipipipipluuuuuuup!" the Pokemon cried out in distress.

With Dawn and Piplup now in a free fall toward the water below, Cynthia was quick to take action. "Milotic, we need to save them!"

The rescue attempt was on as Cynthia and her Pokemon raced across the sea to intercept the plummeting coordinator. As they sped through the water, though, Cynthia picked up on something moving right above her. Cutting through the air at an even higher speed than the pair down below, J and Salamence had soared past them overhead.

J was already approaching the nearest of the falling targets, that being Piplup. Reaching out as Salamence swooped down, she managed to successfully pluck the smaller Pokemon out of the air. That was good and all as saving Piplup certainly needed to be done, but it was the other target on her radar that J was really interested in. With that in mind, she instead looked to put Piplup's safety in someone else's hands.

Seeing Cynthia and Milotic cruising along in the water behind her, J took Piplup and, without hesitation, dropped it down into their path.

"Pipluuuuuuuup!" Dawn's unfortunate Pokemon again bellowed with fright.

Cynthia picked up on Piplup's plight in a hurry. She was concerned about Dawn as well, but J was much closer to the girl than she was. Feeling the best option was to cede the responsibility of Dawn's well-being to the other woman, Cynthia chose to focus on saving Piplup. "Milotic, slow down a bit! We'll take care of Piplup!" she commanded. With the change in Milotic's speed, Piplup was able to drop safely into Cynthia's arms. "Got you!"

Having taken care of that, Cynthia now turned her attention to the situation of Piplup's trainer.

Dawn was falling fast, but J and Salamence were closing the distance. Her wet hair whipping in the wind, J reached out to grab hold of the girl.

"J!" Dawn cried out.

In seconds, a splash of water rose up into the air as J, Dawn and Salamence reached the surface of the sea. Cynthia and all of the Pokemon present looked on intently, all of them wondering what had happened, hoping everything was all right.

Then, as the wave of water descended back down from where it came, Cynthia spotted something that allowed her to quietly sigh with relief. Salamence was gliding just above the water's surface now, and there atop its back was J with Dawn in her arms, holding the girl tightly. Mission complete.

"Not bad," Cynthia uttered softly. The capabilities of the woman and her Salamence had left her impressed.

With their task finished, Salamence ascended back up into the sky. J relaxed her grip on Dawn and raised her head as they rose up above the sea again. Dawn's heart was still racing from the harrowing fall, but the bright smile on her face shone through regardless.

"Nice catch," Dawn said between breaths. "You think maybe you could have saved us _before_ you blew that thing up, though?"

"I felt like making things exciting," J replied with a shrug of her shoulders. Obviously, she wouldn't have risked it if she wasn't completely sure that she and Salamence could make it to Dawn in time.

Even after all that had happened, as she lay there in J's arms, Dawn was led to believe that something was still amiss with her companion. There was just something about her expression that seemed...troubled. "J, what's wr-"

"I'm sorry," J suddenly apologized, a rarity for her. "Maybe I _was_ a little…envious before."

Dawn almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was this really the J she knew, admitting to something like that?

"It's just," J went on, "…you're such a radiant person that everyone loves you, most of them much kinder people than I am. And...I just can't be like them. There's no way I can."

"So what?" Dawn promptly asked in response. "Yeah, Cynthia's really nice, and I admire that about her. But I don't _want_ you to be all smiley and upbeat and cheerful all the time like other people I might know. I like you just the way you are!"

"You do?"

"Of course!"

Pulling herself upward, Dawn gently wrapped her arms around the back of J's neck. "So don't worry about silly things like that, okay?"

One look at Dawn's eyes was all J needed to know that Dawn was being earnest with her. Shaking her head, she leaned forward and pressed her forehead up against that of the girl in her arms. "I'm an idiot," she said.

Dawn only giggled at the comment. With she and J being as different as they were, things like this were bound to pop up every now and then. But, so long as they cared for each other, they would always find a way to get through it.

Soon, everyone was on their way back to shore. Upon their return, all of J's and Dawn's Pokemon were waiting there to greet their friends, including Dragonair and Pachirisu who had finally recovered from their electricity-induced issues earlier.

"Well, that was unexpected," Cynthia spoke as she hopped down from Milotic. "I never imagined Team Rocket would show up here."

Dawn was just being set down by J after the two of them had dismounted Salamence. "Yeah, us either," she said. "It all turned out okay, though."

"Thankfully, yes. That was some impressive skill you showed back there, Jeanne," Cynthia complimented the work done by Dawn's silver-haired acquaintance. As she stared over at the other woman, however, her eyes narrowed. "Or should I say…Pokemon Hunter J?"

While J directed a sharp look Cynthia's way, Dawn let out a gasp and slapped a hand over her mouth. She only now realized what she'd done. "Wh-when I was falling, I called out…"

"Don't worry, it wasn't because of you," J assured the girl, not taking her eyes off of Cynthia. "You've known since the moment you saw me, haven't you?"

Cynthia wouldn't deny the claim. "When you're in my position, you wind up becoming familiar with many of the Sinnoh region's most-wanted criminals," she stated.

"I figured as much," J spat, the hostility evident in her voice. "So, what now? Will you spread the word that I'm alive? Try to have me arrested? Or maybe you plan on trying to bring me in yourself?"

Dawn was fretting up a storm as she looked back and forth between the two women. This, she realized, could get ugly in a hurry. "U-umm-!"

"Mmm…I suppose something like that would be the appropriate thing to do," Cynthia replied, words that weren't helping Dawn's nerves one bit. "But…I find it hard to believe that Dawn would associate with someone who was still of a criminal mindset."

While J was still waiting, unsure of Cynthia's intentions, Dawn saw an opportunity to perhaps prevent any sort of conflict from taking place. "Sh-she isn't like that anymore, Cynthia!" the coordinator frantically tried to explain. "She did everything she could for _so_ long to get back all of the Pokemon she stole! And she even helps fight against crime now by catching other criminals!"

Intrigued, Cynthia looked to J. "Is that true?"

"More or less," J muttered.

Knowing now how things were, it was up to Cynthia to decide what she wanted to do. J's list of crimes in Sinnoh was seemingly endless, that much she knew about the former Pokemon hunter. No matter what good deeds she'd done since then, most citizens would undoubtedly support the woman's arrest. Still, even knowing that, it was surprisingly easy for Cynthia to make the decision she eventually settled on.

"Some may not agree with me, but, personally, I believe being around Dawn is better for you than being locked away in a jail cell," Cynthia said to J. "So, I think what I'd like to do is just leave you to her."

All at once, Dawn felt like the weight of the world was lifted off her shoulders. Finally, she could relax. "Oh my gosh, thank you, Cynthia. Really."

"Whatever. I would have stayed with her whether you liked it or not," J snorted at the blonde. "And just for the record, I would have stomped you into the ground if you'd tried to take me down."

"J, stop that! Haven't you ever heard the phrase, 'let sleeping Poochyenas lie?' " Dawn scolded the confrontational woman. Just then, though, something that hadn't occurred to her before began setting off alarm bells in her head. "Wait, J, isn't it bad that Team Rocket knows you're alive?"

"What? Oh, them. I wouldn't worry about it," J calmly said to her. "They're too stupid to cause any real trouble."

Though it shouldn't have been quite that simple, Dawn found it hard to disagree. "Y-you're probably right," she had to admit.

"True, they don't seem like the wisest bunch," Cynthia concurred. "So, where do you two make your home these days?"

"Hoenn," J answered, "but that's as specific a location as you're getting."

With thoughts of the Hoenn region in mind, Cynthia took a moment to quietly ponder to herself. "Hoenn, huh?" she spoke, her expression lighting up. "In that case, I actually have a favor I'd like to ask of you."

"A…favor?" Dawn batted her eyes.

Unsurprisingly, J didn't see it as just the simple act of asking for a favor. "You…are you trying to blackmail us now?"

"Absolutely not," Cynthia tried to put her mind at ease. "You're free to decline, though I'd be ecstatic if you were to accept."

Dawn was okay with helping Cynthia out, but she wasn't so sure her significant other felt the same way. In fact, judging by the grimace on J's face, she definitely didn't feel the same way.

Truly, J didn't at all like the idea of assisting Cynthia with anything whatsoever. On the other hand, however, she also felt she owed it to Dawn to try to be civil with the woman, even if only once. "I'll…leave it up to you," J finally said to the girl.

That was definitely not what Dawn had been expecting. She was almost certain that J would want the final say when it came to something like this. She could only imagine that this may have been J's way of making up for what had happened earlier. That, or maybe J had just had enough of trying to deal with Cynthia. That, she thought, was entirely possible.

In any case, Dawn didn't see any harm in accepting the request of her old friend. "What is it you'd like us to do, Cynthia?" she asked.

Smiling with elation, Cynthia clapped her hands together in front of her. "Well, you see..."

* * *

**End of Extra Chapter 2**

A/N: To be continued in Extra Chapter 3!


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